Diplomats in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) delayed the vote to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza once again till Friday even after the United States said that it can support an amended proposal that would demand both Israel and Hamas to allow the use of "all available routes" for humanitarian deliveries. The development came as all negotiators, including the warring parties, are engaged in fierce discussions on a new truce.
Negotiators tried hard to avoid another US veto of a UNSC resolution drafted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) demanding Israel and Hamas to allow "the use of all land, sea and air routes to and throughout the entire Gaza" for humanitarian aid deliveries. As a consequence, the resolution was delayed by several days as the US sought more time.
Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad reject any deals about exchanges of hostages and Palestinian prisoners "except after a full cessation of aggression" by Israel, the factions said in a statement on Thursday. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was in Cairo for a second day of negotiations that ended late yesterday with no concrete results.
Israel's government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it wants to eradicate Hamas, but the high death count of 20,000 Palestinians has drawn increasing international condemnation and calls for an immediate ceasefire. The Israeli military has expressed regret for civilian deaths but blamed Iran-backed Hamas for operating in densely populated areas or using civilians as human shields.
What is happening in Gaza now?
While diplomatic efforts for a new ceasefire and the delivery of crucial aid in Gaza continued, fighting between the two sides intensified as Israel bombarded the north and south of the 41 km-long besieged territory, while Hamas fired rockets on the Jewish commercial capital Tel Aviv, according to officials on Thursday.
At least 14 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in three separate attacks on Thursday in northern, central and southern Gaza Strip, medics said, while Hamas-appointed director of the police station in Khan Younis was killed along with members of his family in a strike on their house.
An Israeli air strike targeted the house of Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, the director of Gaza Health Ministry, according to medics. Bursh was injured and one of his daughters was killed, the medics said.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday said that there were no functioning hospitals left in the northern part of the besieged territory due to lack of fuel, staff and supplies. A total of only nine out of 36 facilities are functioning in the entire Gaza, the health body said.
"WHO and UN partners undertook another high-risk joint mission today to Al-Ahli Arab and Al-Shifa hospitals in northern Gaza. Our teams delivered medicines, IV fluids and supplies for surgery, treating the wounded, and supporting women giving birth," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X.
The WHO also said that one in four households in Gaza are facing "catastrophic conditions" of starvation. "An unprecedented 93% of the population in Gaza is facing crisis levels of hunger, with insufficient food and high levels of malnutrition. At least 1 in 4 households is facing “catastrophic conditions”: experiencing an extreme lack of food and starvation and having resorted to selling off their possessions and other extreme measures to afford a simple meal. Starvation, destitution and death are evident," it said.
(with inputs from Reuters)
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