GAZA: Civil defense officials in Gaza said more than 80 people were killed in Zionist airstrikes on Wednesday, including at least 59 in the northern region. The toll followed relentless bombardment since dawn, coinciding with US President Donald Trump’s arrival in the Qatari capital, Doha, for talks focused on brokering a ceasefire and the release of captives held by Palestinian factions.

In Jabalia, northern Gaza, AFP footage showed flattened buildings, twisted metal, and residents — including young children — searching through rubble. "It’s a nine-month-old baby. What did he do?" cried one mourner beside a bloodied shroud. Hasan Moqbel, who lost several relatives, described dire conditions: “There are no homes fit for living. I have no shelter, no food, no water. Those who don’t die from air strikes die from hunger or lack of medicine.” Rescue efforts were hampered by ongoing strikes and destroyed infrastructure. Gaza’s health ministry said many bodies remained buried beneath debris.

Hadi Moqbel said two rockets struck his family home. “We came running. We saw body parts, children killed, and a baby killed – his head was exploded like a flower. He was two months old.” The Zionist military issued evacuation orders for parts of Gaza City, warning of “intense force” operations. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking from the occupied West Bank, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political gain and reiterated his call for a “ceasefire at any price.”

Negotiations

President Trump met with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Qatari leaders in Doha, where negotiations over a Gaza truce and hostage deal were a central focus. Witkoff described the talks as “really productive,” saying Trump and the Qatari Amir were aligned on “a good plan.” Netanyahu’s office confirmed discussions with the US delegation but insisted on continued military operations until all captives were freed. “We are moving along,” said Witkoff, who framed the effort as a key opportunity to stabilize the region.

Health system collapse

Inside northern Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital, emergency doctor Mohammad Awad described a nightmare. “There are not enough beds, no medicine, and no means for surgical or medical treatment,” he said. “Bodies of the martyrs are lying in the hospital corridors after the morgue reached full capacity.” International medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) accused the Zionist government of deliberately manufacturing a “humanitarian catastrophe.” In a scathing statement, MSF said Gaza was facing “conditions for the eradication of Palestinian lives,” citing a 32 percent rise in malnutrition cases in just two weeks.

MSF rejected a US-Zionist plan to create a new foundation to oversee aid distribution, calling it a “cynical response” aimed at forcing displacement. “Aid cannot be made conditional on forced displacement,” the group said. “We firmly reject and condemn any plan that reduces aid access or subjugates humanitarian needs to military goals.”

Diplomatic rift

A separate diplomatic storm erupted after French President Emmanuel Macron publicly rebuked the entity’s blockade of Gaza, calling it “unacceptable” and “shameful.” Macron, in a televised interview, said the Zionist entity was responsible for conditions where “there is no water, no medicine, the wounded cannot get out, and the doctors cannot get in.” Netanyahu’s office accused Macron of “standing with a murderous Islamist organization" and echoing its propaganda.

Defense Minister Israel Katz added, “We remember well what happened to Jews in France when they couldn’t defend themselves. President Macron should not preach morality to us.” MSF and Palestinian leaders called on the UN, EU, and international powers to pressure the Zionist entity to end the blockade. “(The Zionist entity’s) plan to instrumentalize aid is a cynical response to the very humanitarian crisis they created,” MSF said. — Agencies