CAIRO: Palestinians jammed into their last refuge in Gaza voiced growing fear on Wednesday that Israel will soon launch a planned assault on the southern city of Rafah after truce talks in Cairo ended inconclusively.
The talks in the Egyptian capital, involving the United States, Israel, Egypt and Qatar, ended without any sign of a breakthrough and no date was announced for the next meeting.
The lack of agreement dealt a new blow to the more than one million Palestinians crammed into Rafah, where many are living in tent camps and makeshift shelters after fleeing Israeli bombardments elsewhere in Gaza.
"The news was disappointing, we hoped there could be a deal reached in Cairo. We are now counting down the days before Israel sends in tanks. We hope they don't but who can prevent them?" Said Jaber, a Gaza businessman who is sheltering in Rafah with his family. "We've lost our homes, our jobs. Isn't that enough? We've had enough of this war, and we will need decades to rebuild Gaza and regain our lives."
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who was expected to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, said an Israeli army offensive on Rafah would "completely jeopardise the humanitarian situation."
"Because the people in Rafah cannot simply vanish into thin air. They need safe places and safe corridors to avoid being caught in the crossfire even more. They need more humanitarian aid. And they need a ceasefire," she said in a statement released in Berlin.
Israeli planes and tanks pounded several areas of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, and there was heavy fighting in some parts of the city, residents said.
The health ministry in the enclave said Israeli forces were continuing to isolate the two main hospitals in Khan Younis, and that sniper fire at the city's Nasser Hospital had killed and wounded many people in recent days.
Rafah residents said that dozens of displaced people had begun to leave Rafah after Israeli shelling and air strikes in recent days.
Egypt's president met CIA Director William Burns and Qatar's prime minister at Tuesday's talks aimed at agreeing a Gaza truce, protecting civilians and delivering more aid into the enclave, Egypt's state information service said.
It said in a statement that there was a "keenness to continue consultation and coordination" on the main issues, indicating that no breakthrough was made. — Reuters
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