The US pledges to veto a brand new UNSC decision put forth by Algeria that calls for a right away ceasefire in Gaza.
Right here’s how issues stand on Sunday, February 18, 2024:
Preventing and humanitarian disaster
- In Gaza, at the least 10 Palestinians had been killed in a single day after Israeli forces launched assaults on Deir el-Balah and farmland on the perimeters of Rafah, in accordance with the Wafa information company.
- The company additionally described “intensive shelling” in Beit Hanoon and stated Israeli raids hit Al-Sekka Avenue and the Zeitoun neighbourhood in Gaza Metropolis, within the strip’s north.
- The Ministry of Well being in Gaza stated Israeli forces arrested a “giant quantity” of employees on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
- Intense combating is inflicting individuals to flee Khan Younis, the UN company for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) stated.
- Palestinians in Jabalia have gathered exterior UNRWA headquarters in a protest calling for meals to be delivered to the refugee camp in northern Gaza.
- UNRWA has harassed as soon as once more that folks in Gaza are “on the verge of famine within the north”.
Diplomacy
- Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani stated the sample of negotiations for a framework ceasefire deal for the battle between Israel and Hamas in Gaza was “not very promising” in latest days.
- US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield stated a UN Safety Council decision calling for an “instant ceasefire” won’t be adopted in its present kind.
- Algeria, which drafted the decision, stated it needs to place the decision for a ceasefire in Gaza to a vote on Tuesday.
- The UN particular rapporteur on Palestine slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pledge to push on with Israel’s floor offensive within the metropolis of Rafah in Gaza.
- Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas spokesperson, informed Al Jazeera Netanyahu is “nonetheless taking part in video games” on negotiations.
- President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi reiterated Egypt’s “categorical rejection of the displacement of Palestinians to Egypt in any form or kind” in a name with the French president.
- The Worldwide Courtroom of Justice (ICJ) is about to start public hearings in a case inspecting the authorized implications of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory. Palestine will current its oral arguments.
- Talking on the Munich Safety Convention, Indian International Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar stated Israel “ought to have been very aware of civilian casualties” and known as for a “sustainable humanitarian hall to offer aid”.
- African Union Chairperson Azali Assoumani, talking on the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, stated the individuals of Palestine have the proper to determine their very own state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Regional tensions
- A go to by the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Power to Baghdad has led to a pause in assaults on US troops by Iran-aligned teams in Iraq, in accordance with a number of Iranian and Iraqi sources quoted by the Reuters information company.
Violence in occupied West Financial institution
- Residents of Turmus Aya reported that Jewish settlers entered the Palestinian village in a single day, setting autos on fireplace, in accordance with the Israeli and Palestinian media.