Israel attacks Gaza as US says it will block another ceasefire resolution at UN

RAFA, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 18 people overnight and into Sunday, according to doctors and witnesses, as the United States said it would reject another draft of a UN ceasefire resolution. Will veto.

The US, Israel’s top ally, instead hopes for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas and the release of hostages, and envisions a comprehensive solution Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed back, calling Hamas’s demands “delusional” and rejecting US and international calls for a path to a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu has vowed to continue and expand the offensive until “complete victory” over Hamas. Rafah, the southernmost city of GazaMore than half of the enclave’s population of 2.3 million Palestinians have sought refuge from fighting elsewhere.

An airstrike overnight in Rafah killed six people, including a woman and three children, and another strike killed five in the southern city of Khan Yunis, the main target of attacks in the past two months. Associated Press journalists saw bodies arriving at a hospital in Rafah.

There was a mass evacuation of Gaza City, which was isolated suffered widespread destruction In the early weeks of the war, an airstrike destroyed a family home, killing seven people, including three women, according to Saeed al-Afifi, a relative of the deceased.

The Israeli military rarely comments on individual attacks and blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militants operate in dense residential areas.

UN says raided hospital will no longer function

Meanwhile the head of the World Health Organization said the main medical center serving southern Gaza, Nasser Hospital, was no longer able to operate after Israel raided the facility late last week.

In a post on Twitter Or was not allowed to enter the hospital on Saturday. With partners.”

He said there are still around 200 patients in the hospital, of which 20 require immediate referral to other hospitals.

Israel says it has arrested 70 suspected militants without providing evidence, including 20 who it says took part in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. The military says it is searching for the remains of hostages inside the facility and is not targeting doctors or patients.

The war erupted when Hamas breached Israel’s defenses on October 7 and attacked communities in southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians and about 250 taken hostage, The militants still hold about 130 people hostage, a quarter of whom are believed dead, after most others were released during a week-long ceasefire in November.

At least 28,858 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in the war, according to Gaza Ministry of Health, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its records. Nearly 80% of Gaza’s population has been driven from their homes One quarter faced starvation,

David Satterfield, the US Middle East envoy for humanitarian issues, said on Friday that he had to stop the escorts because of Israeli attacks on Hamas-run police protecting aid convoys. It is “almost impossible” to provide desperately needed assistance Because of the threat of criminal gangs. He also said that Israel has not presented specific evidence for its claims that Hamas is diverting UN aid.

US opposes another ceasefire proposal

Algeria’s Arab representative to the UN Security Council has circulated a draft resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access, as well as rejecting the forced displacement of Palestinian civilians.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement late Saturday that the draft resolution runs contrary to Washington’s own efforts to end the fighting and “will not be adopted.”

He said, “It is important that other parties give this process the best possible chances to succeed, and not pursue measures that jeopardize it and the chance for a permanent resolution of hostilities.”

Hamas has said it will not release all remaining hostages unless Israel ends the war and withdraws from Gaza. It is also demanding the release of hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, including top militants.

Netanyahu has publicly rejected both the demands and any scenario in which Hamas would be able to rebuild its military and governance capabilities. He said he had sent a delegation to ceasefire talks in Cairo last week at Biden’s request but saw no point in sending them again.

Netanyahu has also pushed back against international concern about Planned Israeli ground invasion In Rafah, he said residents would be evacuated to safe areas. It is not clear where they will go in largely devastated Gaza.

Israeli leaders also oppose Palestinian statehood, as US says A key element in its comprehensive vision To normalize relations between Israel and regional giant Saudi Arabia and for Arab investment in the post-war reconstruction and governance of Gaza.

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