UN ceasefire vote delayed until tomorrowThe UN security council has again postponed a vote calling for a new ceasefire in Gaza as diplomats struggle to agree on the language of the draft resolution.
The Guardian has been told that the vote has now been scheduled for Thursday in New York.
The UN draft resolution, drafted by the United Arab Emirates, has been changed several times amid reported policy differences inside the Biden administration.
The vote was initially scheduled for Monday but it has been repeatedly delayed in an effort to avoid a third US veto since the conflict began more than two months ago.
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Joanna Walters
In the US, humanitarian organisations Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International USA, Human Rights Watch and others have sent a letter to US defence secretary Lloyd Austin urging him to “take urgent steps to ensure the protection of civilians in US-supported Israeli military operations in Gaza” amid the “devastating levels of civilian harm”.
The letter is pointed about the US’s firm support for Israel in its punishing war in Gaza, where the Israeli government has pledged to destroy the controlling-force Hamas after the latter’s murderous attack on southern Israel on October 7.
The letter “cc’s” US secretary of state Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan and demands that Biden administration “rhetoric on the protection of civilians must be backed by action and leverage” in Gaza.
The letter says, in part: “We appreciated your recent comments emphasizing the critical importance of protecting civilians and ensuring the free flow of humanitarian aid in Gaza. However, these comments appear detached from the ongoing reality of Israel’s operations, which continue to cause devastating levels of civilian harm and destruction and inhibit the provision of life-saving humanitarian aid – all using US support.”
Summary of the day so farIt’s 9.45pm in Gaza City and Tel Aviv. Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
At least 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began on 7 October, according to the latest figures by the Hamas government’s media office. Among those killed include about 8,000 children and 6,200 women, it said.
Al Jazeera broadcast captures moment strike hits building in Rafah – video The UN security council has postponed a vote calling for a new ceasefire in Gaza until Thursday as diplomats struggle to agree on the language of the draft resolution. The UN resolution, drafted by the United Arab Emirates, has been changed several times amid reported policy differences inside the Biden administration.
Joe Biden has said he does not expect an imminent deal between Israel and Hamas over the release of hostages held in Gaza. “We’re pushing it. I don’t … there’s no expectation at this point,” the US president told reporters. The White House earlier on Wednesday said there are “very serious” discussions over a humanitarian pause in Gaza and hostage release between Israel and Hamas.
The leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, made his first visit to Egypt for more than a month on Wednesday, a rare personal intervention in diplomacy amid what a source described as intensive talks on a new ceasefire to let aid reach Gaza and get hostages freed. But Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, appeared to rule out a ceasefire as he vowed that Israel will continue its war against Hamas “to the end”.
The first aid convoy to travel direct from Jordan to Gaza since the start of the war has delivered 750 metric tonnes of food to the Palestinian territory the UN World Food Programme has said. The 46-truck convoy travelled through the Israeli-Gaza Kerem Shalom border crossing, through which Israel last week approved the temporary delivery of aid into Gaza, opening a new route for supplies after weeks of pressure. Meanwhile, Israel’s foreign minister has said it wants to fast-track the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza through a maritime corridor from Cyprus.
Israeli forces have said they shot dead a Palestinian man who tried to carry out a “car ramming attack” in the occupied West Bank. Basel Wajeeh al-Muhtasib “died as a result of being shot by occupation [Israeli army] bullets” as he drove through Bayt Inun junction, north of the city of Hebron, official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
The political leaders of Hamas have begun talks with the group’s military wing about how to govern Gaza and the West Bank after the war with Israel ends, according to a report. “We want the war to end,” Husam Badran, a member of Hamas’s political bureau in Qatar, told the Wall Street Journal, amid sharpening divisions with Hamas’s military faction.
The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has held talks with his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi, in Amman. On his second trip to the Middle East since being appointed to his role last month, Cameron is seeking to make Britain’s argument for a sustainable ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. He will also visit Egypt this week.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has said Israeli forces are besieging its ambulance centre in Jabalia in northern Gaza.
In a social media post, it said Israeli snipers are on the roofs of surrounding buildings, “posing a threat to the safety” of 127 people including paramedics, volunteers and their families.
🚨Urgent: Occupation forces are still besieging the PRCS ambulance center 🚑 in #Jabalia, northern #Gaza. ⚠️Artillery shelling continues in the vicinity of the center, with the sounds of explosions heard. Israeli snipers are positioned on the roofs of surrounding buildings,…
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) December 20, 2023In an earlier post, the PRCS said it had received several calls regarding shelling in Jabalia, adding that its teams had been unable to reach individuals besieged there.
The UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories has pleaded with Joe Biden for a ceasefire in Gaza.
In a post on social media, Francesca Albanese addressed the US president directly, asking him to “please, please intervene to stop this senseless carnage of innocent civilians in Gaza”.
Every additional day the international society fails to stop the war is “another nail in the coffin of humanity and the international law base order,” she added.
President Biden, @potus, please, please intervene to stop this senseless carnage of innocent civilians in Gaza.
Every additional day the int’l community doesnt act to stop Israel’s extermination campaign is another nail in the coffin of humanity & the int’l law based order. t.co/9FJFfvWu2W
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) December 20, 2023 Israel’s military is at “another significant phase” of its offensive in Gaza, the head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) southern command has said.
Maj Gen Yaron Finkelman, at a tour of the frontline in southern Gaza, said:
This offensive will continue and keep moving forward. It will continue with pressure against the enemy above ground and underground.
From the Times of Israel’s Emanuel Fabian: