Israel-Gaza war: UN chief accuses Israeli forces of creating obstacles for aid after Security Council vote
20,000 Palestinians have been killed as the death toll reaches a new grim milestone
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Your support makes all the difference.The head of the United Nations has accused Israel of creating “massive obstacles” to aid distribution within Gaza after the UN Security Council has called for more humanitarian assistance within the battered enclave.
António Guterres took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express his concerns about the conduct of Israeli forces which he says is escalating the humanitarian crisis.
He said: “The way Israel is conducting this offensive is creating massive obstacles to the distribution of humanitarian aid inside Gaza.
“An effective aid operation in Gaza requires security; staff who can work in safety; logistical capacity; and the resumption of commercial activity. “
It comes as the United Nations Security Council voted in favour of boosting humanitarian to the Gaza Strip and called for urgent steps “to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities” on Friday.
Although the US did ultimately abstain, the 15-member council was able to adopt the resolution drafted by the United Arab Emirates as 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict.
War reaches grim milestone
Israeli forces have killed more than 20,000 Palestinians, health officials in Gaza said Friday, as Israel expanded its offensive and ordered tens of thousands more people to leave their homes.
The deaths in Gaza amount to nearly 1% of the territory’s prewar population — the latest indication of the 11-week-old conflict’s staggering human toll.
Israel‘s aerial and ground offensive has been one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history, displacing nearly 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and leveling wide swaths of the tiny coastal enclave.
More than half a million people in Gaza — a quarter of the population — are starving, according to a report Thursday from the United Nations and other agencies.
Israel declared war after Hamas militants stormed across the border on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking some 240 hostages. Israel has vowed to keep up the fight until Hamas is destroyed and removed from power in Gaza and all the hostages are freed
.After many delays, the U.N. Security Council adopted a watered-down resolution Friday calling for immediately speeding up aid deliveries to desperate civilians in Gaza.
The United States won the removal of a tougher call for an “urgent suspension of hostilities” between Israel and Hamas. It abstained in the vote, as did Russia, which wanted the stronger language.
The resolution was the first on the war to make it through the council after the U.S. vetoed two earlier ones that called for humanitarian pauses and a full cease-fire.
Signing off
After an eventful day at the UN, we’re signing off for now.
Thanks for reading The Independent’s live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.
Stay tuned for all the latest news and analysis.
American-Israeli citizen taken hostage by Hamas dies in Gaza
An American citizen who was taken hostage by Hamas during the 7 October attacks on Israel has died in captivity in Gaza, according to a group representing hostages’ families.
Gadi Haggai, a 73-year-old US and Israeli dual national, was out for a walk with his wife Judith Weinstein Haggai, 70, in the Kibbutz Nir Oz where they lived that morning when Hamas militants stormed across the border into Israel, the Missing Persons Families Forum said.
The couple was reportedly shot at, with Gadi Haggai left critically injured.
Neither of them has been seen or heard from since.
Rachel Sharp reports.
American-Israeli citizen taken hostage by Hamas dies in Gaza
Gadi Haggai, a 73-year-old US and Israeli dual national, and his wife Judith Weinstein Haggai, 70, were both kidnapped on 7 October
Israel wanted US help in effort to get Egypt to accept refugees: report
In the immediate aftermath of the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel, Israeli prime minister asked if the US could pressure its ally Egypt to accept scores of Palestinian refugees, The Washington Post reports.
However, the Biden administration reportedly responded that Egypt would never go along with the idea, as it didn’t want to facilitate mass displacement.
A measure of relief for Gaza’s children
Friday’s resolution emphasised the need for additional humanitarian aid to reach the civilians of Gaza.
Earlier this month, Richard Hall and Ariana Baio reported on some of the innocents who’ve already been killed.
More than 7,000 children have been killed in Gaza – here are some of their stories
Special Report: One little girl desperately wanted to be a YouTube star. Her brother adored football and his favourite player, Cristiano Ronaldo. Their cousin was a teenage electronics wiz. Since the start of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, more than 7,000 children have been killed in airstrikes, artillery and mortar fire. Often entire families disappeared in an instant. Here are the stories of nine Palestinian children who’ve been killed in the war, as told to Richard Hall and Ariana Baio
As UN wrestled with resolution, fighting continued
On the front lines, the negotiations at the UN today must seem a long way away.
On Friday, a Hezbollah rocket barrage killed an Israeli soldier and wounded another, according to The Times of Israel.
What has Hamas said about the UN vote?
Hamas criticised the UN Security Council resolution calling for expedited aid to Gaza as an “insuficient step.”
“During the past five days, the US administration has worked hard to empty this resolution of its essence, and to issue it in this weak formula... it defies the will of the international community and the United Nations General Assembly in stopping Israel’s aggression against our defenseless Palestinian people,” the group said in a statement.
The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, said the resolution was a step in the right direction but maintained calls for a ceasefire.
UNICEF reiterates call for ceasefire after UN resolution
UNICEF, the United Nations body that provides humanitarian aid to children, has continued to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, as the conflict continues to kill numerous children.
Following Friday’s vote, they released a video appeal via X.
Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the Israel-Hamas war
The Israel-Hamas war began when the militant group launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing numerous civilians.
In response, Israel has invaded Gaza, killing thousands of innocents, a vast majority of them women and children.
Alex Woodward reports on the horrifying civilian death toll.
More than 20,000 killed in Gaza as entire population faces food and water crisis
At least 8,000 children are dead following Israel’s siege, according to Gaza’s health ministry
Why the UN’s Gaza resolution is unlikely to impact wider war
After numerous postponed votes, the United Nations Security Council on Friday approved a resolution calling for urgent humanitarian aid to Gaza, abandoning a proposal that would have urged for a broader ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, which has killed over 20,000 people and devastated large parts of the Gaza Strip.
That’s despite worldwide protests and a UN General Assembly majority vote last week calling for such a pause in fighting.
So what does the resolution actually do? Here’s what you need to know.
Why the UN’s Gaza resolution is unlikely to impact wider war
After days of delay at behest of US, language calling for ‘urgent suspension of hostilities’ was stripped from binding resolution
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