The Israeli military moved deeper into the most populated areas of Gaza City on Tuesday, a painful reminder to Gazans that the recognition of a Palestinian state by Western powers does not mean an end to the horrors of war, writes "Reuters".
Israel continued its offensive in Gaza a day after dozens of world leaders gathered at the United Nations to support the creation of a Palestinian state. It is a landmark diplomatic shift after nearly two years of war that has faced resistance from Israel and its close ally the United States.
Local health authorities said Israeli fire killed at least 22 people in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, 18 of them in Gaza City, and the Gaza Health Ministry said hospitals in the enclave would run out of fuel for the next few days, putting lives at risk.
"We are not steadfast, we are helpless. We have no money to go south and we have no guarantee that if we do, the Israelis will not bomb us, so we are staying," Huda, a mother of two from Gaza City, told Reuters. via chat app.
"Children are shaking all the time from the sound of the explosions, so are we, they are destroying a city that is thousands of years old, and the world is celebrating symbolic recognition of a state that will not stop killing us."
Israeli forces detonated vehicles laden with explosives in the suburbs of Sabra and Tel al-Hawa as tanks launched a major push into the western side of Gaza City. Residents said the explosions destroyed dozens of homes and roads.
Three hospitals stopped working on Monday as Israeli forces advanced, further weakening the health system and depriving residents of medical care, local authorities said.
President Emmanuel Macron announced France's recognition of Palestinian statehood at a meeting he convened with Saudi Arabia on Monday - a landmark move that seems unlikely to change the reality on the ground. Israel has said such actions would undermine prospects for a peaceful end to the conflict.
The two-state solution was the basis of the US-backed peace process that began with the Oslo Accords in 1993, but the process has stalled.
The Israeli government has said there will be no Palestinian state while it fights the extremist group Hamas in Gaza following an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 that killed around 1,200 people.
Israel has faced international condemnation for its military conduct in Gaza, where more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health authorities.
However, Israel has launched a ground offensive on Gaza City with little prospect of a ceasefire and is demanding that Hamas hand over the last hostages it took in the 2023 attack on Israel. d.
"These countries that suddenly remembered that Palestine was occupied, forgot that Gaza was destroyed. We want the war to end, we want our massacre to end, that's what we need now, not declarations."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected criticism of the military campaign and said the war would not stop until Hamas was eliminated. But he has not presented a plan for Gaza, much of which has been razed to the ground, after the war.
US President Donald Trump will meet with leaders and representatives of several Muslim-majority countries on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Gaza, which is facing a humanitarian crisis including widespread famine.
White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said on Monday that Trump would hold a multilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan.
Axios reported that Trump would present the group with a proposal for peace and post-war governance in Gaza.
Washington wants Arab and Muslim countries to agree to send military forces to Gaza to allow Israel to withdraw and provide funding for transition and reconstruction programs, Axios reported.
In February, Trump proposed the US takeover of Gaza and the permanent displacement of Palestinians from there. This has been described as a proposal for "ethnic cleansing" by human rights experts, and the UN says forced displacement is illegal under international law. He will address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.