Disappointment as US vetoes UNSC resolution calling for humanitarian pause
Kristen Saloomey
Israel-Hamas war live: Biden in Israel, anger over Gaza hospital attack
18 Oct 2023 | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera
▻https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/10/17/israel-hamas-war-live-anger-after-israeli-strike-kills-500-in-hospital
16:58 GMT
Disappointment as US vetoes UNSC resolution calling for humanitarian pause
Kristen Saloomey
Reporting from UN headquarters in New York
The explanation the US gave was that the draft resolution did not mention strongly enough, did not mention at all, Israel’s right to defend itself. That was a non-starter for the US.
But after days of negotiations, the US alone voted against this resolution. There were two abstentions: Russia and the United Kingdom.
Many countries expressed disappointment that they could not compromise and come up with a resolution, disappointment that they could not come together and make a statement to de-escalate the situation there and allow aid in.
Many also said that it would undermine the Security Council in the long-run, not being able to come to an agreement on such an important matter of peace and security.
10:03 GMT
Heavy Israeli bombardment continues in Gaza as Biden arrives in Israel
By Hani Abu Isheba, Khan Younis, Gaza
There are heavy bombardments still going on across the Gaza Strip despite what happened last night.
Last night’s attack on the hospital, which left at least 500 people dead, has not stopped Israel from continuing its bombardment of the enclave.
A short while ago, a residential building in Khan Younis was targeted. It was completely destroyed with seven people pronounced dead on the scene. Forty others were seriously injured.
Most of those that were killed were evacuees from different parts of Gaza.
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza
37m ago (09:45 GMT)
Fuel situation at Gaza hospitals critical
Safwat Kahlout
Reporting from the Gaza Strip
The fuel situation in the Gaza Strip is critical. The health ministry is desperate to source fuel for the hospitals and has issued alerts requesting anyone with even a litre of fuel to get in touch.
A litre of fuel could save lives in Gaza.
Al-Shifa Hospital has already been forced to close some of its departments due to lack of fuel for its emergency generators. Other hospitals have informed us that they will be forced to shut down in the coming hours.
Some hospitals in the north had to close in the first days of Israel’s bombardments because it was not safe to remain open after receiving Israeli warnings.
1h ago (09:03 GMT)
Attack on hospital ‘the most advertised crime in history’
Earlier we posted a testimony by surgeon Ghassan Abu Sitta, who was working in al-Ahli Arab Hospital when it was attacked on Tuesday evening.
He has just posted a new comment on Facebook:
“We now know that the number of killed exceeds 500. This number will increase as I saw many dismembered bodies and parts of bodies as I carried the last patient into the ambulance past the courtyard.
“This was the most advertised crime in history. It was a massacre by appointment. The Israeli government has been openly saying it was going to target hospitals for the last week and the world just stood by and did nothing.
“The number of children who were killed exceeds 50 per cent. I saw a body of a toddler who was missing a head … this morning the bombing continued.”
2h ago (08:31 GMT)
El-Sisi says Israel can host Palestinian refugees in Negev desert
More from el-Sisi’s news conference in Cairo where he suggested that Israel can move Palestinians affected by the war to the Negev desert instead of requesting Egypt to host them.
“There is the Negev desert in Israel. The Palestinians can be moved to Negev desert until they [Israel] do what they wish to do with the military operatives in the Gaza Strip before returning [the Palestinians] back,” the president said in the media address alongside visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“If the Palestinians are transferred to Egypt, the military operation initiated by Israel may last for years and years to come. In this case, Egypt will continue to bear the consequences and Sinai will be a base for operations against Israel and in this case, Egypt will be labelled as a base for terrorists,” he said.
“The acts by Israel cutting power, water, electricity is a means to forcibly transfer Palestinians to the Sinai Peninsula, which we totally reject.”