The leaders of the European Union have not asked for a complete stop to the fighting in Gaza. Instead, they are requesting short breaks to send aid to the people there. The United Nations said their work in Gaza is not able to continue because of Israel’s constant bombing of the area.
The statement was released after meetings in Brussels on Thursday. The United Nations Security Council has tried multiple times to pass a resolution on the war between Israel and Hamas, but has been unsuccessful. Member states are now preparing to vote on a new resolution proposed by Jordan on behalf of Arab states on Friday.
The Foreign Minister of Jordan, Ayman Safadi, said to diplomats at the United Nations Assembly Hall that punishing everyone for one person’s actions is not a way to protect oneself. The resolution asks for the fighting to stop, for hostages to be released, and for no one to be forced to leave their homes.
Over 2 million people in Gaza are going through a worsening crisis because of daily bombings and a blockage of fuel that is needed to save lives. Israel claims that Hamas is gathering and storing fuel for its own purposes, and has requested that Hamas, the powerful Palestinian group in control of Gaza, distribute it to others as well. The lack of electricity has greatly affected healthcare, and many people have had to leave their homes because of the bombings.
Since October 7, Israeli attacks have resulted in the deaths of over 7,028 individuals in Gaza. Among the victims are numerous children. This information was reported on Thursday by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas.
People all over the world are urging Israel to let aid into Gaza, which really needs it. The United Nations and some countries nearby are asking for a quick stop to the fighting, while others think there should be a temporary break so people can get the help they need.
However, the world has not been able to come together and agree on what to do about the crisis. It has been almost three weeks since the violence started, which was caused by Hamas’ violent attacks and kidnappings on October 7. These attacks resulted in the deaths of over 1,400 people in Israel and over 200 people being taken hostage in Gaza.
The Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, said on Thursday that requests for a ceasefire were not about trying to achieve peace. Instead, they were about restricting Israel’s ability to protect its citizens and deal with a significant threat.
Israel is not fighting against people, they are fighting against very bad creatures. They want to completely destroy Hamas and will do whatever it takes to achieve this.
He said this while the Defense Minister said that Israel’s troops are getting ready for the next part of their fight against Hamas. People think this will be through a ground attack.
The movement will start when the circumstances are suitable. These conditions are complicated because the campaign is also complicated. “The soldiers are prepared,” Gallant said during a meeting in Tel Aviv.
Israel’s military carried out a planned operation in northern Gaza last night. They have promised to continue carrying out similar operations on the ground in the next few days.
The goal of the incursions is to target and eliminate Hamas fighters, prepare for a full-scale invasion, and disable bombs and surveillance posts. This information comes from a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Daniel Hagari spoke on Thursday.
There were six people hurt when a rocket hit Taba, a city by the Red Sea in Egypt.
The rocket hit a building where ambulances are kept and also hit a residential area of the hospital’s office building in a city that is next to Israel. We don’t know yet who shot the rocket or from where, but the IDF said they know about the security issue.
The health ministry in Gaza, controlled by Hamas, released a long report with many names of people who died since October 7. They say that these deaths were caused by the Israeli military’s attacks.
The ministry said that many more people have likely died than what has been reported. The report does not include people who have not been identified, those who were buried without being officially registered at the hospital, or those who are still missing. There are about 1,600 people who are still missing.
The list doesn’t separate people involved in combat and those not involved, but it does include information about age, gender, and the ID card number of the victims. This list was released after US President Joe Biden expressed doubt about the number of civilian casualties reported by the Gaza Health Ministry.
Israel and the US have said they are not sure if the numbers of people who died in Gaza are accurate, but they have not shown any proof that the numbers are too high.
White House spokesperson John Kirby said that the ministry in Gaza is secretly affiliated with Hamas. However, he did not deny that many Palestinians, including innocent civilians, have been killed.
The leader of the US-supported Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, Mohammad Shtayyeh, stated that the PA’s own health authority believes the numbers are accurate.
“These numbers belong to us,” Shtayyeh said in an interview on Thursday with Al Jazeera. “Every day, the hospitals in Gaza send us these numbers. Our Ministry of Health receives them. ”
The Palestinian Authority in Ramallah is led by a different group than Hamas, and it oversees the Ministry of Health, which has a connection with the Gaza ministry. Every day, the number of people who have died in Gaza is reported in both Gaza and Ramallah.
Israel has said that Hamas is in charge of important fuel supplies in Gaza. This is a big problem because hospitals, bakeries, and UN humanitarian efforts might have to stop working because they don’t have enough fuel.
Juliette Touma, who is in charge of communication for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), has said that if the agency does not receive sufficient fuel, it will have to completely stop its operations. The fuel is necessary to generate electricity for hospitals and to desalinate water.
Touma said that UNRWA is still having a hard time because they have very little fuel, and the amount they have is getting even less. There is still limited supply of deliveries to places like hospitals and bakeries. UNRWA is having trouble because they are not getting enough fuel to the Gaza Strip.
The IDF explained that the issue in Gaza is not a shortage of fuel. Instead, it is caused by Hamas, the group in control of the situation.
Colonel Avichay Adraee stated that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) successfully targeted and destroyed a Hamas military compound in the Gaza Strip. The operation was carried out in retaliation for the ongoing rocket attacks fired by Hamas towards Israeli territories. ColonelAccording to Israeli military intelligence, Hamas has control of a large amount of fuel, which ranges from 800,000 to potentially over one million liters, stored in Gaza. Jonathan Conricus shared this information with CNN on Thursday.
“He said that some of it was collected and stored earlier, some were taken without permission from the UN, and some were taken by Hamas from private sellers. ”
Israel is stopping the delivery of fuel to Gaza completely because they think Hamas would use it for military purposes instead.
In simpler words, Tamara Alrifai, who works for UNRWA, said that it doesn’t matter if there are other sources of fuel in Gaza. UNRWA is a humanitarian organization and they shouldn’t have to beg for fuel to keep doing their work.
With very little fuel left, UNWRA is having to choose whether to provide electricity to bakeries or hospitals. More than 600,000 people have been forced to leave their homes and now only get one piece of bread a day.
On Thursday, twelve trucks with aid went into Gaza from Egypt. They brought water, food, medicine, and medical supplies, but no fuel. The Palestine Red Crescent Society reported this.
According to PRCS, 74 trucks have entered the area since humanitarian aid transfers started again a few days ago.
Usually, there would be about 455 daily, the United Nations said. This means that essential supplies are coming into the area much slower than necessary.
The hospitals are very full and close to breaking down because there are too many injured people. Doctors have told CNN many times that they don’t have enough supplies or electricity to properly take care of them.