Description: The Israeli military has announced that they would suspend operations in the Gaza Strip and allow internationally sponsored air drops of humanitarian aid from Egypt, Jordan and the UK to be delivered in the enclave. The announcement arrives after a week of harrowing images from Gaza, showing what the media labeled as man made starvation, which prompted countries to strenuously condemn Israel for its actions and push for the humanitarian corridors to be opened. UN officials, however, remained skeptical, as air drops of humanitarian packages were only a temporary measure and trucks containing the necessary quality and quantity of aid were needed for the aid to have impact on the devastating humanitarian situation. Last week, Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy for the Middle East, announced that he withdrew the US negotiating delegation from the mediated peace talks with Hamas, stating that Hamas set unrealistic demands and did not negotiate in good faith. Hamas has denounced the claims outlined by Israel and the US and stated the organization remained dedicated to achieving peace in Gaza.
Impact: The collapse of the peace talks is reportedly being used as a pressure negotiations strategy from Israel and the US in order to force Hamas to agree towards the initially proposed agreement. The cessation of Israeli military operations and the air drop deliveries arrive as a result of the growing pressure aimed at Israel to open the humanitarian corridors in Gaza and lift the blockade. The temporary measure could also be perceived as Israel navigating away from public criticism while preparing to exercise full control over the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza and reinstate military operations. If the abandonment of the peace initiative from the US and Israel was conceived as a negotiating strategy, the countries and Hamas would resume negotiating entering next week. The situation on the ground despite minimal deliveries of humanitarian aid remains catastrophic, while the divergent opinions towards restarting the negotiations further compromise the peace initiative.