A “humanitarian pause” of Israel’s war on Gaza may be in the works after intense debate at the UN Security Council yesterday. The United States remains firmly opposed to a ceasefire, but there are signs it could be pushing Israel for a brief break or slowdown in the IDF’s brutal bombardment to let more aid into Gaza, with allies including Canada and Australia now agreeing civilians need to be thrown a lifeline of some (vague, undetermined) form.

At the UN Security Council yesterday, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry accused Israel of committing “flagrant” breaches of international law in its war on Gaza and said Western powers were complicit in the violations. Shoukry described bids by the US, the UK and others to justify the indiscriminate attacks on civilians as “shameful,” and “tantamount to participating in the crimes.”

Ceasefire now: Shoukry reiterated his calls for an immediate ceasefire and increased aid deliveries. He urged the council to prevent Israel from forcibly displacing Palestinians out of their homeland, which he said “amounts to a war crime.”

Western countries continue to show no interest in backing a ceasefire, with officials still invoking “Israel’s right to self defense” to justify the war. The US has particularly hardline on the matter, and still insists that Israel should be permitted to proceed with its indiscriminate campaign to wipe out Hamas despite the soaring civilian death toll. “A ceasefire, right now, really only benefits Hamas … It is ugly and it’s going to be messy, and innocent civilians are going to be hurt going forward,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters yesterday.

Yesterday was the deadliest day yet: Israel killed more than 700 Palestinians in Gaza yesterday, making it the deadliest 24-hour period since it began its bombing campaign on 7 October, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Almost 5.8k Palestinians have now been killed in Gaza over the past 17 days, 2,360 of whom were children, the ministry said. Almost 16.3k people have been injured.

For the first time, Guterres accuses Israel of breaking international law: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres accused Israel of committing “clear violations” of international law, telling the Security Council that Hamas’ brutal attack does not justify the “collective punishment” of civilians in Gaza (watch, runtime: 5:42). The spiking civilian death count and mass destruction of neighborhoods is “deeply alarming,” he said, before criticizing Israel’s total siege and its displacement of more than 1 mn people.

The UN boss is blaming the occupation: Acknowledging the “appalling” attack carried out by Hamas, he told the council that it “did not happen in a vacuum,” describing Israel’s “suffocating” occupation and displacement of Palestinians over the past 56 years.

Guterres’ statement triggered a furious response from Israel, whose foreign minister refused to meet with him after the session. Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, demanded Guterres’ immediate resignation and opposition leader, Benny Gantz, labeled him a “ terror apologist.”

THE SITUATION ON THE GROUND IS CRITICAL-

Dwindling fuel supplies are close to shutting down humanitarian relief efforts: The UN will run out of fuel supplies tonight, forcing it to halt operations and delivery of humanitarian aid to people in Gaza, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said yesterday.

A humanitarian response from the Israeli military: “Ask Hamas if you can have some,” the IDF replied in a tweet accusing Hamas of hoarding hundreds of thousands of liters of fuel.

Remember: Israel has cut the electricity and prevented fuel from entering the strip since the start of the war in an attempt to starve the territory of power. Without fuel, generators won’t be able to power hospitals, bakeries will close, and Gaza will lose its last remaining source of clean water, its desalination plant

More hospitals are shutting down across Gaza: “We confirm that 12 hospitals and 32 health centers are out of service, and we fear that more will be out of service in the coming hours due to targeting and running out of fuel,” the Gaza’s health ministry said in a statement on Telegram.

Another paltry aid delivery: Just eight trucks — five carrying water, two with food, and one with medical supplies — made it across the Rafah border crossing yesterday, the Palestinian Red Cross said last night, taking the total number to enter since Saturday to 62. Gaza has a population of 2.3 mn people.

Remember: Egypt is working with the UN, the US and Israel on what US officials are calling a “ sustained delivery mechanism ” to increase the supply of aid to the besieged territory.

REGIONAL ESCALATION-

Tensions between Iran and the US are on the rise: The US has pointed the finger at Tehran for a series of attacks on US forces in the region by Iran-linked groups in recent days. White House spokesman John Kirby accused it of “actively facilitating” the rocket and drone attacks on US bases in Syria and Iraq. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday the US military will respond “swiftly and decisively” if it comes under attack from Iran-backed groups.

Attacks have so far been small-scale: In one incident, several US troops suffered minor injuries in Iraq after coming under fire from drones. Another attack saw the US shoot down several drones at the Al Tanf base on the Jordan-Iraq border.

Washington is building up its presence in the region: It has sent two carrier strike groups to the Eastern Mediterranean, put 2k troops on alert, and stepped up surveillance in anticipation of an escalation in violence.

Macron’s plan for de-escalating tensions: Get Western countries directly involved in the war. French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed bringing in the coalition of countries that fought against Daesh to take on Hamas alongside Israel even as he advocates against escalating the conflict. Speaking at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, Macron said he wants to see Western nations help Israel by sharing information and targeting Hamas “in a precise way,” Reuters and the New York Times reported yesterday.

DIPLOMACY-

The frantic series of meetings and telephone calls between world leaders continued unabated yesterday:

  • Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman had a phone conversation with US President Joe Biden about the potential for regional escalation, humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages. (White House)
  • Russia + Iran are strengthening ties: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to discuss “building up the entire complex of multifaceted Russian-Iranian partnership,” according to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry picked up by Reuters.
  • Erdogan, Putin discuss crisis: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the “brutality” of Israel’s offensive with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, and blamed the “silence” of the West for the escalating violence, the Turkish president’s office said.
Tags: