Live Updates: UNSC for first time seeks 'immediate' Gaza truce as US abstains

Monday, March 25, 2024

14:38 GMT — The United Nations Security Council has demanded an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian resistance Hamas and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages after the United States abstained from the vote.

The resolution, which demands an "immediate ceasefire" for the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan that leads to a "lasting" truce, went through, with all other 14 Security Council members voting yes.

It also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

The Security Council resolution also "emphasises the urgent need to expand the flow of humanitarian assistance to and reinforce the protection of civilians in the entire Gaza Strip and reiterates its demand for the lifting of all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance at scale."

14:10 GMT — Netanyahu threatens to cancel delegation to US over UN Gaza vote

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will not send a delegation as planned to Washington if the United States does not veto a UN Security Council proposal calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli news website Ynet reported on Monday.

A high-level delegation is due to travel to Washington to discuss a planned Israeli military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu's office on Ynet's report.

13:58 GMT — White House's Sullivan to meet Israeli defence minister: official

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan planned to meet with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to discuss hostage talks, humanitarian aid and protecting civilians in Rafah, a White House official has said.

The meeting is separate from an upcoming meeting between senior officials from the United States and Israel to discuss Israel's plan for Rafah, the official said.

13:54 GMT — Israel will stop working with UNRWA in Gaza: government

Israel will stop working with the UN Relief Works Agency in Gaza, a government spokesperson has said, accusing the aid agency of perpetuating conflict

"UNRWA are part of the problem, and we will now stop working with them. We are actively phasing out the use of UNRWA because they perpetuate the conflict rather than try and alleviate the conflict," spokesperson David Mencer told reporters.

13:52 GMT — Germany: more humanitarian aid for Gaza is its 'big political priority'

The German government has said that providing more urgently needed humanitarian aid for the people in Gaza is its “big political priority.”

Berlin is "working intensively to ensure that more humanitarian aid reaches the people of Gaza. It is our big political priority that more humanitarian aid comes into Gaza,” deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Christian Wagn er told media representatives in Berlin.

Asked about Israel’s decision to prevent the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, from operating in northern Gaza, Wagner replied while he could not give any assessment yet, "any news that gives the impression that the already insufficient humanitarian aid is being reduced again is of course not a good thing.”

13:02 GMT — Aid groups report 'unimaginable' conditions in Gaza hospital

Aid groups that visited a packed Gaza hospital described an "unimaginable" situation in which large open wounds were left untreated.

An emergency medical team organised by three aid groups spent two weeks carrying out surgeries and other care at the European Gaza Hospital near Khan Younis. The southern city has seen heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian resistance groups since the start of the year.

In a statement, the team said healthcare workers had been forced to evacuate or were unable to access the hospital.

It said Israeli restrictions had led to shortages of medical supplies, including basics like gauze and plates and screws used to stabilise broken bones.

11:26 GMT — Pro-Palestine group targets dual-national Israeli soldiers over Gaza with legal action

A pro-Palestine group based in Europe is ramping up its efforts for justice for victims of Israeli war crimes in Gaza, focusing particularly on legal action against soldiers in the Israeli military.

More precisely, the March 30 Movement is going after Israeli soldiers who hold dual nationality of European nations.

Since last October when Israel launched its war on Gaza, the group has filed more than a dozen cases at local courts in the Netherlands and at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Its latest case was filed at the ICC last Friday against Yoel Ohnona, a French-Israeli soldier, on charges of torturing Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

10:14 GMT — Israel warns Europe against Palestinian statehood recognition

Israel has told four European countries that their plan to work toward recognition of a Palestinian state constituted a "prize for terrorism" that would reduce the chances of a negotiated resolution to the conflict between the neighbours.

Spain said on Friday that, in the name of Middle East peace, it had agreed with Ireland, Malta and Slovenia to take first steps toward recognising statehood declared by the Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Gaza.

"Recognition of a Palestinian state following the October 7 massacre sends a message to Hamas and the other Palestinian terrorist organizations that murderous terror attacks on Israelis will be reciprocated with political gestures to the Palestinians," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on X.

"A resolution of the conflict will only be possible through direct negotiations between the parties. Any engagement in the recognition of a Palestinian state only distances reaching a resolution and increases regional instability."

He did not specify what kind of resolution he had in mind. Israel, whose governing coalition includes pro-settlement far-rightists, has long ruled out Palestinian statehood.

10:55 GMT — Israel arrests 15 more Palestinians in West Bank raids

The Israeli army detained 15 more Palestinians in military raids in the occupied West Bank, according to prisoners' affairs groups.

A child and former prisoners were among the detainees, the Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.

Most of the arrests took place in the cities of Hebron, Bethlehem, Qalqilya, Jenin, Ramallah and Jerusalem, the statement said.

The new arrests brought to 7,770 Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the occupied territory since October 7, 2023, according to Palestinian figures.

10:52 GMT — Gaza death toll rises to 32,333: Health Ministry

At least 32,333 Palestinians have been killed and 74,694 injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since October 7, the health ministry in the enclave said.

There have been 107 Palestinians killed and 176 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry statement added.

10:25 GMT — Israel kills dozens in Gaza attacks and besieges two hospitals: medics

Israel's military killed dozens of people in new attacks in Gaza, Palestinian medics said, and its forces maintained a blockade of two hospitals where they say Hamas fighters are hiding.

Palestinian medics said 30 people had been killed in the previous 24 hours in Rafah, whose population has been swollen by displaced Palestinians escaping fighting elsewhere in Gaza after more than five months of war.

"Every bombing that takes place in Rafah, we fear the tanks will come in. The past 24 hours were one of the worst days since we moved into Rafah," said Abu Khaled, a father of seven, who declined to give his full name for fear of reprisals.

09:56 GMT — UN agency a 'lifeline of hope' for Palestinian refugees: Guterres

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres defended the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, describing it as a "lifeline of hope and dignity."

During a visit to the Wihdat refugee camp in the Jordanian capital Amman, Guterres said it would be "cruel and incomprehensible" to halt UNRWA's vital services to Palestinian refugees across the region.

"We must strive to keep the one-of-a-kind services that UNRWA provides flowing because that keeps hope flowing," Guterres said during his visit to the camp.

"In a darkening world, UNRWA is the one ray of light for millions of people. I see that hope here. Now more than ever, we must not take away that hope."

09:34 GMT — Israel seeks alternative routes to get weapons for its attacks on Gaza: report

Israel is exploring alternative routes to get weapons to sustain its ongoing offensive on Gaza, Israel's public broadcaster said, amid tensions with the US over the launch of military assault in Rafah city in southern Gaza.

It quoted an unnamed security official as saying that tensions with the US over the Rafah operation and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza will have an impact on Washington's readiness to continue assisting Israel at the same pace.

The US, Israel's staunchest supporter, recently differed with Tel Aviv over the danger of starting a military offensive in the densely populated Palestinian city of Rafah.

09:25 GMT — Israel bars Palestinian Christians from entering Jerusalem for Palm Sunday celebrations

Palestinian Christians from the occupied West Bank were barred by the Israeli authorities from entering the occupied East Jerusalem to participate in the Palm Sunday religious event.

Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which is mentioned in all four canonical Gospels.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement condemned Israel's action and called for "binding international measures to ensure the freedom of access for Palestinians to their holy capital."

"The occupation deprives Christian citizens of access to Jerusalem, is a commitment to its separation from its Palestinian surroundings, annexation, and Judaization," the statement added.

09:18 GMT — British activists push for halt to Israel arms sales

The International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) interim ruling that Israeli forces may well be committing genocide in Gaza should be enough for countries like the UK to suspend arms sales to Israel, according to British activists.

The southwestern city of Bristol was the site of pro-Palestine protests even before the beginning of Israel’s attacks on Gaza last October as it hosts the headquarters of Elbit Systems, a weapons manufacturing company that has long been accused of being complicit in the Israeli onslaught against the enclave.

In an interview with Anadolu, Eldin Fahmy, a senior lecturer at the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol, said Elbit is "very secretive" about their activities in the UK.

Fahmy said the firm is involved in supplying Israel with weapons "that are used in violence against Palestinians," including manufacturing military drones to target Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

"So they are complicit with Israel's actions in Gaza today," he said.

08:26 GMT — China supports new UN Security Council draft resolution on Gaza ceasefire

China said it supported a new draft resolution at the UN Security Council on an "immediate" ceasefire in Gaza, after it and Russia vetoed an earlier text proposed by the United States.

"China supports this draft resolution and commends Algeria and other Arab countries for their hard work in this regard," foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.

"We hope the Security Council will pass it as soon as possible and send a strong signal for the cessation of hostilities," he said.

04:10 GMT — UN agency for Palestinians barred from north Gaza aid deliveries

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said that Israel had definitively barred it from making aid deliveries in northern Gaza, where the threat of famine is highest.

"Despite the tragedy unfolding under our watch, the Israeli Authorities informed the UN that they will no longer approve any @UNRWA food convoys to the north," Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the agency, said on X.

"This is outrageous & makes it intentional to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man made famine."

0:3:20 GMT — Palestine Red Crescent loses contact with teams at al-Amal Hospital

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said that it lost contact with its teams at al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis city in southern Gaza after the Israeli army stormed the facility in the morning.

“Communication has been lost with the Palestine Red Crescent Society team at al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis due to the VHF wireless communication wave going out of service,” it said on X.

“Various land and cellular communication means, as well as internet services, are still disconnected in Khan Younis Governorate for the 72nd consecutive day,” it added.

02:50 GMT — Galatasaray winger Kerem Akturkoglu condemns Israel's attack on al-Shifa Hospital

Turkish Super Lig club Galatasaray's winger Kerem Akturkoglu condemned Israel's attack on al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza in a post on his official Instagram account.

"What is humanity waiting for to stop to this oppression, rape and terrorism? Do human rights, the inviolability of life, property and chastity only apply to a part of the world?" he wrote, adding: "Oh Allah, we, your servants, are powerless to stop this disgrace. Help us!"

Akturkoglu also shared a photo depicting a destroyed al-Shifa Hospital with the words “person,” “woman” and “child” crossed out followed by the word “Rights.”

For our live updates from Sunday, March 24, click here.