AGI – The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahuleft a cabinet meeting early to spend 50 minutes on the phone with the Russian president Wladimir Putin.
This was reported by a spokesman for the head of government, quoted by the Times of Israel. The phone call – the second between the two leaders since the war began on October 7 – comes at a time of tension with Russia over its strong anti-Israel stance in the war against Hamas, after Moscow's ambassador made sharp comments on Friday about the Jewish state the United Nations.
Clashes in Gaza continued for another two months
Fierce clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas in the Gaza Strip could continue for another two months. This was reported by Israeli sources quoted by the Times of Israel, which quoted the public broadcaster Kan. After this period there will be no ceasefire, the sources say, but local operations will be carried out by forces that will remain close to the Gaza Strip.
There will be attempts to advance further agreements to release more hostages in the coming months, say sources. At some point in the next two months, Israel will allow some Gazans to return to their homes, Kan reports, saying this is “a request from the US and also an operational necessity.”
The US veto
Israel has stepped up its offensive against Hamas in Gaza after the United States blocked a UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire after more than two months of war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is under pressure to do more to protect civilians as it continues its mission to “wipe out” Hamas from the Gaza Strip.
Even its most important ally, the United States, says there is a “gap” between what Israeli authorities say and what they do. However, last night the United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire”. A further 13 council members supported the resolution while the UK abstained, reflecting growing international concern over the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which govern Gaza and the West Bank respectively, condemned the American veto at a time when the Islamist movement said 17,487 people were killed by the Israeli offensive, predominantly women and minors. In the southern Gaza Strip, an Israeli bombing in Khan Younis this morning killed six people and another five people died in another attack in Rafah, Hamas' health ministry said. Israel has been bombing Gaza since October 7 in response to an attack by Hamas militants on its territory that killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped another 240.
Of the total number of hostages About 138 remain prisoners. The offensive, which has included ground operations since October 27, has reduced the Palestinian enclave to rubble, where the entire humanitarian aid system is “at risk of collapsing,” according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. According to the United Nations, more than half of homes have been destroyed or damaged and 1.9 million people, 85% of the population, are displaced.
Guterres: “UN paralyzed, but I don’t give up”
The UN Security Council is “paralysed by geostrategic divisions” that undermine solutions to the war between Israel and Hamas. This was stated by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his speech at the forum in Doha, Qatar. “The authority and credibility of the body have been seriously undermined by the delay in responding to the conflict,” he said, commenting on the U.S. veto that blocked a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. “I reiterated my call for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared,” Guterres said. “Unfortunately, the Security Council has not done this,” he added. “I can promise I won’t give up.”
In Gaza, half of the population is dying of hunger
Half of the population in Gaza is starving. Carl Skau, deputy director of the United Nations World Food Program, told the BBC, saying only a fraction of the necessary supplies had reached Gaza and nine out of 10 people were unable to eat every day. Conditions in Gaza made deliveries “almost impossible,” Skau said.
WHO: “Catastrophic impact on health”
The war between Israel and Hamas “is having a catastrophic impact on health in the Gaza Strip.” This was stated by the head of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “The impact of conflict on health is catastrophic” and health workers are doing impossible work in unimaginable conditions, the director-general of the United Nations health agency said at the opening of a special session of the WHO Executive Board convened to discuss health conditions in the Palestinian territories.
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