Live Updates: Blinken to press Israel for 'immediate' truce in Gaza war

Friday, March 22, 2024

06:16 GMT — Blinken to press Israel for 'immediate' truce in Gaza war

Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Israel to press for a truce in Gaza, ahead of a key UN Security Council vote on a US draft resolution calling for an "immediate" ceasefire.

Israel's main backer the United States announced it would submit for a vote on Friday a draft to the Security Council on the need for an "immediate ceasefire as part of a hostage deal", after repeatedly using its veto power to block other similarly worded resolutions.

After talks in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Blinken flies to Israel, his sixth trip to the region since the war began on October 7.

05:37 GMT — UK, Australia call for 'immediate cessation of fighting' in Gaza

Britain and Australia have declared the need for an "immediate cessation of fighting" in Gaza, as diplomatic pressure built on Israel to ditch a planned ground assault on the southern city of Rafah.

After a meeting of Australian and UK foreign and defence ministers in Adelaide, the allies issued a statement that stressed the "urgency of an immediate cessation of fighting in Gaza to allow aid to flow and hostages to be released".

05:11 GMT — There is no moral argument that justifies arms sales to Israel: UN rapporteur

Providing weapons to Israel that kill more Palestinian civilians is a "war on human rights" and nothing justifies continuing arms sales, according to the UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders.

In an op-ed published by the British daily The Guardian, Mary Lawlor evaluated the continued arms sales to Israel in the face of the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.

"There exist no moral arguments that can justify the continued sale of weapons to Israel by states that respect the principle of the universality of human rights," said the UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders.

05:00 GMT — Footage of French-Israeli soldier mocking Palestinian torture victims ‘shocking and disgusting’

Video footage circulating on social media of a French-Israeli soldier insulting Palestinians that his unit tortured is “shocking and disgusting,” French Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine has said.

“This footage is shocking and disgusting. As I initially stated regarding potential legal consequences: the competent authority to address crimes committed by French citizens in foreign countries is the French judiciary.

“In accordance with the constitutional principle of separation of powers, this authority is exercised independently,” he added.

4:16 GMT — EU seeks 'humanitarian pause' in Gaza as UN awaits US resolution

EU leaders have called for an "immediate humanitarian pause" in Gaza, urging measures to prevent population displacement amid ongoing Israeli aggression in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

"The EU calls for an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire. Full & safe humanitarian access into Gaza is essential to provide the civilian population with life-saving assistance in a catastrophic situation in Gaza," European Council President Charles Michel said as a joint text agreed upon by EU’s 27 heads of state and government was released.

"The European Council calls for an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and the provision of humanitarian assistance," the bloc said in the text published by the council.

03:41 GMT — No moral argument that justifies arms sales to Israel: UN rapporteur

Providing weapons to Israel that kill more Palestinian civilians is a "war on human rights" and nothing justifies continuing arms sales, according to the UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders.

In an op-ed published by the British daily The Guardian, Mary Lawlor evaluated the continued arms sales to Israel in the face of the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, where nearly 32,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7 last year.

"There exist no moral arguments that can justify the continued sale of weapons to Israel by states that respect the principle of the universality of human rights," said the UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders.

03:10 GMT — US to bring resolution calling for ceasefire in Gaza for vote in UN

The United States will bring a UN draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an Israel-Hamas hostage deal to a Security Council vote on Friday morning, a US spokesperson said.

The latest version of the draft resolution, seen by Reuters news agency, says an "immediate and sustained ceasefire" lasting roughly six weeks would protect civilians and allow for the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

The resolution "unequivocally supports ongoing international diplomatic efforts to secure such a ceasefire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages," it reads, referring to ongoing talks brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

02:28 GMT — Expulsion out of Rafah would take 'weeks': CENTCOM chief

The head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said that expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza's southern city of Rafah would take "weeks."

That was Michael "Erik" Kurilla's response to being asked by a lawmaker on the Senate House Armed Services Committee if 1.3 million residents could be moved from Rafah for a possible Israel invasion "in two weeks."

He said he could not give a timeframe "without seeing their [Israel's] definitive plan."

For our live updates from Thursday, March 21, click here.