David Satterfield, the US special envoy for humanitarian issues in the Middle East, confirmed that “there are international parties that are holding discussions with Israel regarding the issue of deploying hospital ships, and I believe that the French government has been very public about this matter.” 

He added to Al-Ayyam: “With regard to other arrangements to supplement medical care in the south (south of Gaza), the United States is working, in cooperation with a variety of other international organizations, to see what can be done with regard to transferring field hospitals to safe areas of the south to increase the ability of hospitals there to provide medical care.” “Our focus has been on transferring humanitarian aid to meet as much as possible under the current circumstances the needs of Palestinian civilians in southern and central Gaza on as sustainable a basis as possible,” Satterfield said in a telephone interview. 

He explained: “We have now increased the level of assistance to about 100 trucks per day, and we are looking forward to a higher level of assistance to transport appropriate essential humanitarian aid - according to UN agencies - to southern Gaza.” He added: “We realize that even 150 trucks per day meets the minimum level to provide basic humanitarian assistance for survival. Much more is needed. Commercial shelves must be restocked, and bakeries must reopen.” 

He expressed his hope that "the humanitarian pauses that have been announced will allow this type of movement to be facilitated - the removal of wounded civilians and the removal of citizens." He added: "But again, everything we are doing now is just the beginning, and we realize that it will require more work, and it will be done quickly." “The future of Gazans is in Gaza and nowhere else,” Satterfield stressed. “We do not, as a matter of basic principle, support or wish to see the displacement of Gazans. 

Now, within Gaza itself, those now in the south must have every ability to Return to the north when it is safe to do so, and we do not see any ongoing displacement, even inside Gaza, from north to south.” He stressed that "we see a future in Gaza determined by the Palestinians. We see that there is an absolute need for a joint approach to the West Bank and Gaza, and not to separate them. We believe that the two-state solution is the only guarantor of a peaceful future for Israel, as well as for the Palestinians." He said: “Now, how to reach those goals is an issue that must be discussed, and it depends, of course, to a large extent on how this campaign ends, and whether Hamas will be eliminated as a threat, as a force capable of dictating things to the people of Gaza.” 

He added: "We said publicly that two things should not happen: the Israeli occupation, or Hamas remaining in power, and whether there is an international or regional shift towards a Palestinian role in Gaza and the West Bank, which we believe is necessary, all of this must be resolved." Regarding whether the United States supports the presence of Arab forces in Gaza, Satterfield said: “We are now focusing on providing humanitarian assistance to Gaza and the safe exit of Gaza for foreign citizens.” Regarding the future of Gaza after the war, Satterfield said: “We believe that there must be a fundamental Palestinian role in deciding the future of the West Bank and Gaza, and there cannot be a siege on Gaza, and there cannot be a separation of Gaza as a political issue from the future of the West Bank.” 

The two-state solution - including Gaza and the West Bank - is the surest way to meet the needs, the real needs, of both Israelis and Palestinians.” Regarding the high number of civilian martyrs, he said: “The loss of one innocent life is too many. 

The loss of thousands is simply unacceptable. We are doing everything we can to provide advice in various forms to Israel, and its army, to try to reduce the level of losses.”