Onlookers gather around a car that was destroyed in an Israeli raid in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Feb 20, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

RAMALLAH/GAZA/GENEVA/DOHA/AMMAN - Palestine on Tuesday rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks about Israel's security control over the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, considering it a challenge to international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesperson of the Palestinian presidency, said in a press statement that these Israeli policies "do not bring security and stability to anyone here or in the region," warning against the continuation of this "destructive approach that will lead matters to a complete explosion".

"Palestine rejects this Israeli policy that challenges the world," he added.

Abu Rudeineh called on the US government to "force" Israel to stop the conflict first "because the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people is a red line".

At least 12 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday during an Israeli attack on a residential square in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian medical sources

Netanyahu said Monday that Israel will maintain its security control over the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

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"In recent days, we have witnessed pressure on us unilaterally to impose the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger the existence of the State of Israel," he added in a video statement.

"The recognizing a Palestinian state at this stage would be a ‘reward for terrorism’ and would undermine the chances of a lasting peace deal," he said.

Meanwhile, at least 12 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday during an Israeli attack on a residential square in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian medical sources.

The medical sources told Xinhua that "the Palestinian civil defense crews transported 12 bodies of Palestinians and dozens of wounded after targeting several homes in the Nuseirat camp, which was crowded with displaced people".

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"The bodies of the victims arrived in pieces at a local hospital, while the wounded were transferred to the hospital to receive treatment amid great suffering due to the running out of medicines and the limited number of medical staff present in the hospital," the sources said.

The sources said they are facing "extreme difficulty" in dealing with the large number of victims arriving at hospitals.

Earlier in the day, the Gaza-based health ministry announced that the number of Palestinian deaths as a result of Israeli attacks on the Strip had risen to 29,195 since the outbreak of the Hamas-Israel conflict. 

This handout photo taken on Feb 18, 2024 by the World Health Organization (WHO), shows a convoy of ambulances during a WHO, UN humanitarian agency OCHA and Palestinian Red Crescent mission to evacuate patients from Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. (PHOTO / WHO VIA AFP)

Critical patients evacuated

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday that it has transferred 32 critical patients, including two children, from the Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza in two life-saving missions in the past two days.

An estimated 130 sick and injured patients and at least 15 health workers remained inside the hospital, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told a press briefing in Geneva.

Describing the situation there as "heartbreaking", WHO staff Chris Black said that the hospital was surrounded by burnt and destroyed buildings, and heavy layers of debris, with no stretch of intact road

The WHO voiced concerns over their safety and well-being and warned that further disruption to lifesaving care for the sick and injured would lead to more deaths.

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The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis has ceased to function following Israel's military raid on Feb 14, after a week-long siege, said the UN health agency.

The Nasser Hospital had no electricity or running water, and medical waste and garbage were creating a breeding ground for disease, said the WHO. Describing the situation there as "heartbreaking", WHO staff Chris Black said that the hospital was surrounded by burnt and destroyed buildings, and heavy layers of debris, with no stretch of intact road.

The dismantling and degradation of the Nasser Hospital was a massive blow to Gaza's health system, said the agency. Other facilities in the south have been already operating well beyond maximum capacity and were barely able to receive more patients, it added.

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Jasarevic said the WHO hoped to see the Nasser Hospital and other health facilities in Gaza protected, rebuilt, and properly supplied. This could only be achieved if there was a ceasefire and unimpeded access to health workers, patients, and humanitarians, he added.

The WHO repeated its calls for the protection of patients, health workers, health infrastructure and civilians.  

A displaced Palestinian woman, who fled her house due to Israeli strikes, carries a child as she walks through a tent camp, in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb 20, 2024. (PHOTO / REUTERS)

Hamas receives aid to hostages

Also on Tuesday, the Qatari government said Hamas has confirmed the receipt of a shipment of medicines and the commencement of their delivery to beneficiaries among the Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas has informed the Qatari side that it received the medicines and started to deliver them to the hostages in Gaza under an agreement mediated by Qatar, in cooperation with France between Hamas and Israel last month, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The agreement includes "the entry of medicines and a shipment of humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip, especially in the most affected and damaged areas, in exchange for delivering the medicines needed by hostages in the sector," the ministry's official spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari was quoted by the statement as saying.

During the talks, the king also called for more efforts to achieve a lasting ceasefire that would end hostilities in Gaza

As part of its commitment to ending the conflict in Gaza, Qatar has affirmed its ongoing mediation efforts, in collaboration with regional and international partners, according to Al-Ansari. 

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In Amman, King Abdullah II of Jordan on Tuesday warned against the cessation of international funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), saying it is a vital lifeline for nearly 2 million people facing the risk of famine in Gaza.

The king made the remarks at a meeting with a delegation from the US Senate, during which he emphasized the gravity of the situation in Gaza as the holy month of Ramadan approaches, noting that the UN agency provides essential services to Palestinian refugees in the region, according to a statement by the Royal Hashemite Court.

During the talks, the king also called for more efforts to achieve a lasting ceasefire that would end hostilities in Gaza. He cautioned about the dire consequences of the ongoing conflict, saying it would be catastrophic for the entire region.

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Several of UNRWA's staff were accused by Israel of involvement in the Oct 7 Hamas attack against Israel. Following the allegations, a number of donor countries, including the United States, Britain, and Canada, have announced their decision to suspend their funding for the agency.