Live Updates: Blinken defends US veto as Gaza collects 40 more bodies

Friday, February 23, 2024

06:10 GMT — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has responded to criticism that the US is alone in its approach to Israel's war on besieged Gaza, saying, "We all share the same goals."

"Everyone wants to see an end to this conflict as soon as possible," Blinken said during a news conference in Brazil in response to a question on the US' isolation due to its support for Israel and the use of its veto against UN Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire.

"I think all of us are united in wanting to see after Gaza the path forward to a genuinely durable, sustainable peace," he said.

"That resolution would not in and of itself result in a ceasefire. The question before us is what is the most effective way to move forward in a way that gets hostages out, gets an extended humanitarian ceasefire and ultimately leads to the end of the conflict," Blinken said in an explanation of the US' use of its veto.

06:00 Israeli air strikes kill 40 Palestinians in Gaza

At least 40 Palestinians have been killed and around 100 others wounded in Israeli air strikes in Gaza, the Gaza Media Office announced.

"The Israeli occupation army has committed a horrific massacre in central Gaza, where fighter jets bombed four civilian homes, resulting in the deaths of 40 martyrs and more than 100 injuries," the media office said on Telegram.

It noted that more than 90% of the victims were women and children.

The media office held "the American administration, the international community and the [Israeli] occupation fully responsible for these ongoing crimes."

It called on "the free world to immediately and urgently stop the genocidal war being waged by the occupation army against civilians, including children and women."

05:50 GMT — G20 hot mic gaffe exposes extent of US isolation following Gaza ceasefire veto

The US found itself increasingly isolated when a hot mic during an international summit in Brazil exposed searing criticism from close international allies prompted by Washington's refusal to endorse a ceasefire in the besieged Gaza.

The pointed criticisms were made during a closed press meeting of G20 foreign ministers that reporters were able to listen into via audio headsets after organisers failed to turn them off, according to the Washington Post newspaper.

Close US ally Australia warned of the "further devastation" that would result from Israel’s vowed invasion of southern Gaza's city of Rafah, where nearly 1.5 million people are seeking shelter, the vast majority of whom fled other parts of Gaza amid bombings and Israeli orders for civilians to evacuate.

South Africa, which has filed a case with the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide, said the inaction has "allowed impunity to hold sway."

"We have failed the people of Palestine," South African envoy Naledi Pandor said.

She went on to criticise the apparent double standards being employed by the Biden administration in Palestine when compared to Ukraine, where Washington has sought to rally global support against Russia's invasion, in part due to key tenets of the international rules-based order that it says the Kremlin is trouncing upon.

05:45 GMT — Israeli occupation violates Palestinians' right to self-determination: Malaysia

Malaysia has told a hearing at the International Court of Justice [ICJ] that Palestine has the right to self-determination and that this right has been violated due to the Israeli occupation.

Speaking on behalf of Malaysia, Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan highlighted that the occupation is illegal due to its violation of international law and emphasised the need for an immediate end to the occupation.

Hasan said it is essential for the ICJ to express its views on the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, as this opinion would assist in delivering a fair judgment on the occupation, annexation and discriminatory policies in Palestine.

Emphasising the violation of international law, occupation law and laws regulating annexation and the use of force through the establishment of illegal settlements in the occupied territories, Hasan pointed out that all these actions further violate the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.

Speaking about "the unquestionable validity of the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people," Hasan said that in addition to ending the occupation, Israel should compensate Palestine for the violations and damages it has caused.

05:41 GMT — Protesters march inside Biden's California hotel, accuse him of genocide

A group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched inside US President Joe Biden's California hotel, demanding an immediate ceasefire in the besieged Gaza.

"Biden, Biden, you can't hide; we charge you with genocide," the group, estimated by the White House pool to include up to 30 people, chanted.

They also chanted "ceasefire now" as they marched through the upscale Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. "How many kids did you kill today?" they asked.

A banner held by some of the protesters as they walked through the Fairmont's lobby and past its rooms said: "Stop funding genocide: End all US aid to Israel."

05:30 GMT — Israel kills 23 civilians in central Gaza strikes — Palestine

Israel has struck central Gaza and killed at least 23 civilians, mostly children and women, the blockaded enclave's Health Ministry said, adding the bodies were taken to a hospital.

These casualties raise the approximate death toll to 71 from Israeli bombing during the past 24 hours.

Israeli fighter jets targeted several houses in Deir al Balah, including the home of the Attar family, as well as the Yaghi family home in the town of Zawaida in central Gaza, official WAFA news agency reported.

"The Israeli attack resulted in the murder of at least 23 civilians and the injury of dozens more, the majority of whom were children and women."

The Health Ministry said the number could still rise. The bodies were taken to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah, the ministry said.

Earlier, Israeli strikes killed at least 48 people in southern and central Gaza, half of them women and children, the ministry said.

05:15 GMT — Any Israeli invasion of Rafah must cease immediately: China

China's Permanent Representative to the UN has said any invasion by Israel into besieged Gaza's Rafah area must cease immediately, Xinhua news agency reported.

He added that a ceasefire in the blockaded enclave is a common wish voiced by the international community and the consensus of the Security Council's overwhelming majority.

04:47 GMT — Israel can't be stopped merely by condemnation: Turkish parliament speaker

Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus has stressed the ineffectiveness of merely condemning Israel's war on besieged Gaza, calling for swift international intervention to halt its aggression.

"What's even more distressing is that while the Israeli government, [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his cohorts commit these crimes, the whole world is watching," he said.

He called for global action to prevent further atrocities, emphasising the need to isolate Israel diplomatically on every platform.

04:40 GMT — Israeli army continues to besiege Nasser Hospital

The Israeli army has withdrawn from inside the Nasser Medical Complex in the southern besieged Gaza but continues to besiege the building, as well as the nearby Al Amal Hospital, the Palestinian enclave's Health Ministry said.

"Israeli occupation forces are preventing movement to and from the Nasser Medical Complex" in Khan Younis city, the ministry said in a statement on Telegram.

It noted that medical staff had buried 13 patients killed in Nasser Hospital due to the generators and oxygen supply being shut down as a result of the Israeli attacks siege. The ministry did not mention the date of their deaths.

04:30 GMT — Israel confirms building road across centre of Gaza

The Israeli military has confirmed it had built a road crossing in besieged Gaza from east to west.

It said the road, which expanded an already existing corridor, is being used "to move logistics and soldiers."

It gave no additional details, but Israeli leaders have said that Israel intends to maintain long-term occupation over Gaza after the war.

For our live updates from Thursday, February 22, click here.