The US pledges to veto a brand new UNSC decision put forth by Algeria that calls for a direct ceasefire in Gaza.
Right here’s how issues stand on Sunday, February 18, 2024:
Preventing and humanitarian disaster
- In Gaza, a minimum of 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, based on the Wafa information company.
- The company additionally described “intensive shelling” in Beit Hanoon and mentioned 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 mentioned Israeli forces arrested a “giant quantity” of staff on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
- Intense preventing is inflicting individuals to flee Khan Younis, the UN company for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) mentioned.
- 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 pressured 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 mentioned 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 mentioned a UN Safety Council decision calling for an “quick ceasefire” won’t be adopted in its present kind.
- Algeria, which drafted the decision, mentioned 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, advised 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 ready to begin public hearings in a case analyzing 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 mentioned Israel “ought to have been very aware of civilian casualties” and known as for a “sustainable humanitarian hall to offer reduction”.
- African Union Chairperson Azali Assoumani, talking on the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, mentioned the individuals of Palestine have the appropriate to ascertain their very own state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Regional tensions
- A go to by the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Pressure to Baghdad has led to a pause in assaults on US troops by Iran-aligned teams in Iraq, based on 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 automobiles on hearth, based on the Israeli and Palestinian media.
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