Gaza 'annexation' part of military strategy: Israel Defence Minister Katz

Tel Aviv [Israel], April 17 : Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has affirmed that Gaza's annexation was part of a military strategy and troops will remain in the security zones created in Lebanon and Syria indefinitely, Al Jazeera reported.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli military will continue to block humanitarian aid from entering Gaza in order to pressure Hamas to surrender.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Thursday stated that 3,696 Palestinian children were newly admitted for acute malnutrition, which marked a stark increase compared with the number in February, which was 2,027.

"Food consumption in Gaza has sharply deteriorated due to the blockade on the entry of humanitarian aid and other critical supplies now in its seventh week," OCHA said.

"Consumption of key food groups - such as meat, poultry, dairy, vegetables, and fruits - remains critically low," it added.

The lack of access to water in Gaza is also fuelling "a severe survival crisis with far-reaching consequences for public health and protection. Water is essential for survival, yet access to safe water has become dangerously limited," the UN Humanitarian Affairs agency said.

The US special envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, told Al Jazeera that a ceasefire in Gaza will only be possible once all the captives held by Hamas in the Palestinian enclave are released.

Boehler's statement comes as ceasefire negotiations continue amid the Israeli military's intense renewed assault on Gaza. The envoy emphasised release of the remaining captives by Hamas is an essential non-negotiable precondition for any lasting truce.

The United Nations said an estimated 5,00,000 people have been "newly displaced or uprooted once more" in Gaza since Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas on March 18.

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said his country's "policy is clear" and preventing all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza is a "tool" to pressure Hamas.

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