Closing summary
Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
At least 32,070 Palestinians have been killed and 74,298 have been injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, according to the latest figures from Gaza’s health ministry on Friday.
A US resolution urging a ceasefire in Gaza linked to a hostage deal has been vetoed by Russia and China in the UN security council. Eleven council members voted for the resolution on Friday morning; Russia, China and Algeria voted against it and Guyana abstained. As permanent security council members the Russian and Chinese votes counted as vetoes. The US’s critics, including Russia, noted the text did not explicitly use the word “call” in terms of a ceasefire. It also implied the ceasefire would be conditional on the release of all hostages.
The UN security council is expected to vote on Saturday on a new draft resolution that seeks an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, according to reports. The vote on the resolution, expected at 10am local time (1400 GMT), “demands an immediate ceasefire” for the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan that leads “to a permanent sustainable ceasefire” respected by all sides, AFP reported, citing diplomatic sources.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has said an Israeli offensive into the southern Gaza town of Rafah would risk “further isolating” Israel and damage its long-term security. Speaking as he left Israel on a short visit during his sixth Middle East trip since the start of the war, Blinken told reporters he had “candid conversations” with officials including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior ministers.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel remained determined to send troops into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians are sheltering, and would do so without US backing if necessary. “I told him that I hope we would do this with US support but if necessary – we will do it alone,” Netanyahu said after his meeting with US secretary of state Antony Blinken.
The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, said there was no way for civilians to escape the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to send troops as Washington presses for more humanitarian aid. “There is nowhere for these people to go and be safe,” Harris told reporters on Friday.
The leaders of Ireland, Spain, Malta and Slovenia have agreed to take the first steps towards recognising a Palestinian state. The prime ministers of the four countries released a joint statement indicating their “readiness to recognise Palestine and said that we would do so when it can make a positive contribution and the circumstances are right.”
The UK home secretary, David Cameron, has accused Israel of demanding the closure of a key aid crossing into Gaza, in a clash with a British-born government spokesperson that has reportedly resulted in the official’s suspension. The spokesperson, Eylon Levy, whom Israeli media reported as having been suspended, had tweeted Lord Cameron suggesting Israel was not placing any obstacles in the delivery of aid.
The Israeli military’s spokesperson said its forces have detained hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, including a number of security officials and military commanders, during its extended raid into Gaza’s main hospital. Hamas and medical staff deny that the hospital is used for military purposes or to shelter fighters. In recent days, Hamas spokespeople have said that the dead announced in previous Israeli statements were not fighters but patients and displaced people and have accused Israel of war crimes.
Palestine has condemned Israel’s declaration that an 800 hectare (1,977 acres) section of the Israeli-occupied West Bank is state land. The Israeli government announced Friday it was confiscating the land in the occupied West Bank, which activists called the largest such seizure in decades. The Palestinian ministry of foreign affairs said the latest move was “a continuation of the extermination and displacement of our people from their homeland.
People living in Gaza are facing exorbitant food prices as more than 1 million residents of the Palestinian territory face famine. Aid officials have referred to Israel’s siege of Gaza as “man-made starvation”, with the territory facing the threat of mass deaths from famine in the coming weeks. Children are already dying from hunger. But an Israeli official on Friday denied that people in Gaza are suffering from starvation.
Hundreds of worshippers were “blocked” from reaching the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem by Israeli forces on Friday, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Al Aqsa, Islam’s third-holiest shrine, is a focus of Palestinian statehood hopes and is also revered by Jews as vestige of their two ancient temples. Israeli controls on access have often stoked political friction, especially during Ramadan.
The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (Unrwa) has welcomed Finland’s decision to resume funding to the agency. All Nordic countries are now supporting Unrwa, Philippe Lazzarini said, in addition to Canada and Australia, while several Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia have increased funding. Portugal also said it would give €10m ($10.89m/£8.6m) to Unrwa as a one-off contribution intended to provide food, medicine, and humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
UN security council to vote on new draft resolution tomorrow - reports
The UN security council is expected to vote on Saturday on a new draft resolution that seeks an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, according to reports.
The vote on the resolution, led in part by Algeria, the Arab nation currently on the 15-member Security Council, is expected at 10am local time (1400 GMT), AFP reported, citing diplomatic sources.
Three European nations – Malta, Slovenia and Switzerland – are co-sponsoring the resolution, along with Mozambique, Guyana and Sierra Leone.
The draft resolution, seen by AFP, “demands an immediate ceasefire” for the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan that leads “to a permanent sustainable ceasefire” respected by all sides. It also demands both the “immediate and unconditional” release of hostages seized in the 7 October attack by Hamas and humanitarian access in the battered Gaza Strip.
The US has indicated it may veto the new draft resolution, it writes.
Updated
The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (Unrwa) has welcomed the news that Finland will resume funding to the agency.
Finland was one of 16 major donors that suspended payments after Israel accused a dozen Unrwa of involvement in the 7 October Hamas attack. The UN agency denies the charge and says no substantial evidence has been provided to support the allegation.
Finland’s decision today means that all Nordic countries are now supporting Unrwa, its head Philippe Lazzarini wrote on social media.
Countries including Canada, Australia and Sweden have also restored funding to Unrwa, while several Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia have increased funding.
With #Finland decision today to resume funding to @UNRWA, all Nordic countries are now supporting the Agency & its lifeline activities for #Palestine Refugees in #Gaza & across the region.
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) March 22, 2024
🇩🇰🇫🇮 🇮🇸🇳🇴🇸🇪 thank you for standing by UNRWA at this extremely critical time.@DanishMFA…
What happens now the UN resolution has been defeated?
A rival draft resolution favoured by African states has been circulating that is more explicit about an immediate ceasefire, but this will not be put to the vote on Friday.
France’s ambassador to the UN, Nicolas de Rivière, has said an alternative draft championed by the non-permanent members of the security council, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Ramadan, “will come to the table and put to the vote”. He said:
We need a ceasefire and then talks.
But such are the entrenched divisions in the security council that this resolutionis also likely to be killed – this time by a US veto, potentially the fourth of this conflict. For many observers the episode will confirm that the security council is simply broken.
We reported earlier that the leaders of Ireland, Spain, Malta and Slovenia have agreed to take the first steps towards recognising a Palestinian state. We now have a joint statement from the prime ministers of the four countries.
The statement says that the prime ministers met in the margins of the European Council to share views on the situation in Gaza and the Middle East, and that they are agreed on the “urgent need for an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of hostages and a rapid, massive and sustained increase of humanitarian aid into Gaza.” The statement continues:
We are agreed that the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in the region is through implementation of a two-state solution, with Israeli and Palestinian States living side-by-side, in peace and security.
We discussed together our readiness to recognise Palestine and said that we would do so when it can make a positive contribution and the circumstances are right.
Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has posted about his meeting with US secretary of state Antony Blinken in Tel Aviv, saying he “conveyed the imperative of completing the mission in Gaza, including Rafah”.
Gantz, a key political rival of Benjamin Netanyahu, said he reiterated his “profound appreciation” for the US’s continued support for Israel during their meeting.
I met today with US Secretary of State @SecBlinken.
— בני גנץ - Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) March 22, 2024
I reiterated my profound appreciation for the continued support for Israel and deep commitment to Israel’s security.
I conveyed the imperative of completing the mission in Gaza, including Rafah, to dismantle terrorist Hamas…
An Israeli official has denied that people in Gaza are suffering from starvation, despite aid groups warning that virtually every resident in the Palestinian territory is struggling to get enough food.
Aid officials have referred to Israel’s siege of Gaza as “man-made starvation”, with the territory facing the threat of mass deaths from famine in the coming weeks. Children are already dying from hunger.
But Col Moshe Tetro, the head of the Israeli army unit responsible for the delivery of humanitarian aid, told reporters at Gate 96, a new entry point for delivering supplies to the northern area:
As much as we know, by our analysis, there is no starvation in Gaza. There is a sufficient amount of food entering Gaza every day.
Tetro claimed Israel was “doing everything we can to enlarge the capacity of humanitarian aid going into Gaza,” instead blaming “bottlenecks” on international aid groups which he said lacked capacity to distribute supplies inside the territory.
Updated
ActionAid has described the failure of the US resolution urging a ceasefire in Gaza at the UN security council as a disappointment, and urged countries to “stop playing politics with people’s lives”.
In a statement, the organisation said:
It is disappointing to see the UN security council yet again fail to take seriously its mandate to maintain peace and promote human rights by refusing to come together and determine that an immediate, unconditional ceasefire is imperative, when we know this is desperately needed to put an end to almost six months of bloodshed in Gaza.
With children already dying of hunger and experts warning that famine is imminent in North and Gaza Governorates, where 70% of people are experiencing catastrophic hunger, all efforts must continue to secure an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. It is the only way to stop the devastating death toll climbing any higher and ensure enough life-saving aid can be safely and effectively delivered at scale. It’s time to stop playing politics with people’s lives, the people of Gaza can’t afford to wait any longer.
Blinken says he had "candid conversations" with Israeli officials
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said his discussions with Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his war cabinet today focused on three things: the hostage negotiations, humanitarian assistance, and Rafah.
Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv.:
There were important, candid conversations to have at a critical time.
I met with Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli War Cabinet in Tel Aviv to discuss efforts to get more aid into Gaza and get hostages out.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) March 22, 2024
More aid is getting in, but it’s not enough. I emphasized that Israel must make this a priority. pic.twitter.com/gw0tp9VvzB
The US state department has released a readout of the meeting between its secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his war cabinet in Tel Aviv.
Blinken briefed Israel’s war cabinet members on “his consultations in Jeddah and Cairo about efforts to achieve lasting peace and security for Israel, the Palestinian people, and the broader region,” state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Blinken “reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security and the lasting defeat of Hamas, including in Rafah,” and discussed efforts to reach an agreement for a ceasefire to allow for the release of hostages and enable “a surge in humanitarian assistance,” he said, adding:
Secretary Blinken emphasized the need to protect civilians in Gaza and increase and sustain humanitarian assistance, including through both land and sea routes.
Updated
Blinken: UN resolution was 'cynically' vetoed by Russia and China
Asked what the US was trying to achieve with draft resolution that was put forward at the UN earlier today, Antony Blinken said the resolution received “very strong” support but was “cynically vetoed” by Russia and China.
The US secretary of state said the US was trying to show the international community “a sense of urgency” about getting a ceasefire.
Updated
Asked for an update on negotiations on a new ceasefire and hostage release deal, Antony Blinken said the US was “intensely engaged” in talks alongside Qatar and Egypt.
“We’ve gotten it down to a few remaining gaps,” Blinken said.
But the closer you get to the goalline, the harder that last yard is. So there are some hard issues to work through.
Blinken: Major ground operation in Rafah 'risks further isolating Israel'
The US shares Israel’s goals of defeating Hamas and ensuring Israel’s long-term security, Antony Blinken told reporters.
But a major military ground operation in Rafah is not the way to do it. It risks killing more civilians. It risks wreaking havoc with the provision of humanitarian assistance. It risks further isolating Israel around the world and jeopardising its long-term security and standing.
The US secretary of state said he was looking forward to having Israeli officials visit Washington for talks next week “to talk about a different way of achieving these objectives.” Blinken added:
It requires an integrated humanitarian, military and political plan.
Updated
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has been speaking to reporters after meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Blinken said he had a chance to meet with the hostage families during his visit in Israel, and said it was “hard to describe what they’re going through every single day.”
Progress has been made in the last couple of weeks on negotiations to free the remaining hostages, Blinken said, but “there’s still a lot of work to be done.” “We’re determined to try to get it done,” he added.
Blinken said he discussed the “imperative of surging and sustaining” humanitarian situation in Gaza with Netanyahu. “100% of the population of Gaza is acutely food insecure, 100%,” he said, adding that “some positive steps” have been taken in recent days “but it’s not enough.”
Updated
Diplomatically, the US would have benefited from showing some positive leadership at the UN and demonstrating it is not as isolated as it has appeared in its support for Israel.
The bulk of the operational part of the text was directed at Israel without being explicit in those criticisms. It reiterated calls for aid to flow faster, including by opening more land crossings and fewer restrictions on goods allowed to enter Gaza.
It opposed the forcible displacement of Palestinians, and the creation of buffer zones.
It would have also been the first time that the UN collectively condemned Hamas by calling for restrictions on its finances.
But the resolution was silent on three contentious issues. In a clause directed at Israel, it urged all parties to cooperate with the investigations into the neutrality of the UN relief works agency Unrwa, but did not call for a return to funding of the agency at this stage.
The future governance of Gaza was largely untouched save to give the UN special coordinator a clear role.
It did not say if international humanitarian law was being breached.
The US claimed its draft had the support of at least nine of the 15-strong security council members, enough for the vote to pass so long as no veto was wielded by one of the five security council members.
But the Russian deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, told reporters on Thursday:
We are not satisfied with anything which doesn’t call for an immediate ceasefire.
That implied that Moscow would use its veto, as it duly did in the company of China. The Russian envoy said the resolution was a “hypocritical spectacle” that put no real pressure on Israel over its war crimes.
Moscow also said the episode showed the US administration was more interested in throwing a bone to American voters and persuading a domestic audience it was being even-handed in the crisis. Russia said wanted an immediate ceasefire and not one qualified with any preconditions.
What did the US’s vetoed Gaza ceasefire resolution say?
After months of vetoing other UN security council resolutions in an effort to defend Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, the US has in recent weeks gone on to the diplomatic front foot in New York, drafting and tabling its own resolution that was put to a vote on Friday before being vetoed by Russia and China.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the resolution would send “a strong signal”. But what was that signal precisely?
The opening wording on an immediate ceasefire was complex, even convoluted. It noted the imperative for “an immediate and sustained ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides, allow for the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance, and alleviate humanitarian suffering”.
It thereby supported “diplomatic efforts to secure such a ceasefire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages”.
The US’s critics, including Russia, noted the text did not explicitly use the word “call” in terms of a ceasefire. It also implied the ceasefire would be conditional on the release of all hostages. As such, the text marked an important tonal shift for the US, as opposed to a substantive one.
Here’s a clip from the UN security council vote on a resolution urging a ceasefire in Gaza that was vetoed by Russia and China.
Eleven council members of the concil voted for the resolution on Friday morning; Russia, China and Algeria voted against it and Guyana abstained. As permanent security council members, the Russian and Chinese votes counted as vetoes.
Summary of the day so far
It has gone 5pm in Gaza, Tel Aviv and Beirut, and 6pm in Damascus. I will be handing over the Middle East blog to the US team shortly, but first here is a recap of the latest developments:
Russia and China on Friday vetoed a US-sponsored UN resolution calling for “an immediate and sustained ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to protect civilians and enable humanitarian aid to be delivered to more than two million hungry Palestinians. The vote in the 15-member security council was 11 members in favour, three against and one abstention.
Before the vote, Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow supports an immediate ceasefire, but he questioned the language in the resolution and accused the US secretary of state Antony Blinken and US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield of “misleading the international community” for “politicised” reasons.
US vice president Kamala Harris on Friday said there was no way for civilians to escape the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to send troops as Washington presses for more humanitarian aid. “There is nowhere for these people to go and be safe,” Harris told reporters as she departed for a trip to Puerto Rico and Florida.
France will work on a new UN resolution, along with Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, for a ceasefire in Gaza following the Russian and Chinese veto against a resolution proposed by the US, French president Emmanuel Macron said on Friday.
Netanyahu said on Friday that Israel remained determined to send troops into the southern Gaza city of Rafah and would do so without US backing if necessary. The Israeli prime minister told Blinken during a meeting in Israel that there was no way to defeat Hamas without going into Rafah. In a statement, Netanyahu said: “I hope we will do it with the support of the US, but if we have to - we will do it alone.”
Australian and UK foreign and defence ministers on Friday stressed the “urgency of an immediate cessation of fighting in Gaza to allow aid to flow and hostages to be released”, in a statement after talks in Adelaide. The call came just hours before the US put a resolution to the UN security council that stressed the need for “an immediate ceasefire”.
EU leaders overcame their differences to call for an “immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza. The EU declaration, at a Brussels summit late on Thursday, marked the first time European leaders had agreed a declaration on the Middle East since October.
Blinken visted Israel on Friday in the final stop of his Middle East tour and spent around 40 minutes in talks with Netanyahu. Ahead of the meeting, Blinken said he would push for more aid to flow into Gaza and address the growing gap between the two countries. Blinken also met the Israeli war cabinet.
Netanyahu’s office said Israel’s spy chief David Barnea would travel to Qatar on Friday to meet truce mediators.
Spain has agreed with the leaders of Ireland, Malta and Slovenia to take the first steps towards recognising a Palestinian state, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez said on Friday after a meeting of the European Council in Brussels.
Unicef spokesperson James Elder said he is “overwhelmed by loss” as he travelled through Khan Younis in southern Gaza. “I’ve not seen that level of devastation in 20 years with the UN,” Elder said in an interview on Friday, in which he described seeing a dozen “skeletal” children at Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia in the north of Gaza. He also warned against a large scale military operation in Rafah, calling it “Gaza’s last hope”.
The Israeli military’s spokesperson said its forces have detained hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, including a number of security officials and military commanders, during its extended raid into Gaza’s main hospital. There was no immediate comment from Hamas or Islamic Jihad. Hamas and medical staff deny that the hospital is used for military purposes or to shelter fighters. In recent days, Hamas spokespeople have said that the dead announced in previous Israeli statements were not fighters but patients and displaced people and have accused Israel of war crimes.
Ismail al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza, said the misidentification and the inclusion of pictures of medical staff and people outside the country by the Israeli military in a composite picture of what was described as detainees from al-Shifa hospital showed it was spreading false narratives to justify its assault on the medical complex. The Israeli military said on Friday that some of the photographs shared the day before were of militants who had not been detained but whose pictures were included through human error. The IDF and Shin Bet denied the composite was an attempt at “psychological warfare.”
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office announced on Friday that a UK aid-funded field hospital is “now up and running in Gaza”. The UK Foreign Office said the hospital, run by a medical and humanitarian NGO called UK-Med, will treat more than 100 patients a day and “make a real difference on the ground”.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that “hundreds of worshipers” were “blocked” from reaching the al-Aqsa mosque compound by Israeli forces on Friday. Worshipers were on their way to perform the second Friday prayer of the holy month of Ramadan.
A UN humanitarian official appealed on Friday for more than $4bn (£3.17bn) in aid for more than 10 million Syrians, saying that the country’s largely forgotten crisis remains “one of the most deadly to civilians in the world”. Adam Abdelmoula, resident coordinator in Syria for the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, made the appeal days after Syria marked the 13th anniversary of the conflict that has killed nearly a half million people and left large parts of the country destroyed.
Palestine has condemned Israel’s declaration that an 800 hectare (1,977 acres) section of the occupied West Bank is state land. The Palestinian ministry of foreign affairs said the latest move was “a continuation of the extermination and displacement of our people from their homeland”.
Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz summoned Turkey’s deputy ambassador to Israel for a reprimand after Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan vowed to “send [Netanyahu] to Allah to take care of him, make him miserable and curse him,” during an election rally yesterday, reported the Times of Israel. The purpose of the summons, Katz wrote in a social media post on X, is to “convey a clear message to Erdoğan”.
Finland announced plans to reinstate funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (Unrwa) on Friday after suspending its €5m (£4.29m) annual payments to the aid organisation in January. Ville Tavio, Finland’s minister for foreign trade and development, said that while he had read reports that there were shortcomings in the Unrwa risk management, there was insufficient information about alleged connections to supporting Hamas to continue withholding funding.
Portugal said on Thursday it would give €10m ($10.89m/£8.6m) to Unrwa as a one-off contribution intended to provide food, medicine, and humanitarian aid to Palestinians. A foreign ministry official described the amount as new additional aid that had not been in the state budget for 2024.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said on Friday that its disaster risk management teams have started a project to distribute fresh bread daily to displaced families in the al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis and Rafah governorates in Gaza. According to a social media post on X, 20,000 loaves of bread have been distributed by the teams, benefiting approximately 1,000 families.
David Cameron has accused Israel of demanding the closure of a key aid crossing into Gaza, in a clash with a British-born government spokesperson that has reportedly resulted in the official’s suspension. The spokesperson, Eylon Levy, whom Israeli media reported as having been suspended, had tweeted Lord Cameron suggesting Israel was not placing any obstacles in the delivery of aid.
Vegetables are selling for 50 times the usual price as Palestinians scramble for food, according to a new analysis by the humanitarian organisation Christian Aid. In Rafah, where most of Gaza’s population now live, onions cost 50 times their pre-war price and leafy vegetables sell for 25 times their former price.
US vice president says there is 'nowhere' for civilians in Gaza to 'be safe'
US vice president Kamala Harris on Friday said there was no way for civilians to escape the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to send troops as Washington presses for more humanitarian aid.
“There is nowhere for these people to go and be safe,” Harris told reporters as she departed for a trip to Puerto Rico and Florida, reports Reuters.
Updated
There are some more details on Macron’s plans to work on a new UN resolution (see 13:58 GMT) for a ceasefire in Gaza after Russia and China vetoed a resolution proposed by the US.
According to Reuters, France will work with Jordan and the United Arab Emirates to convince Russia and China to back a resolution at the UN for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The UN security council on Friday failed to pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as part of a hostage deal, the first time the US has backed such language.
The resolution called for an “immediate and sustained ceasefire” lasting roughly six weeks that would protect civilians and allow for the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Macron said that the change in tone from Washington meant that he was hopeful a new resolution with Arab states could succeed if they were able to convince Russia and China not to oppose, reports Reuters.
“What is important to note is that the US has changed its position and has indicated its desire to now very clearly defend a ceasefire, which is a good thing for us and for the progress of our draft,” Macron said.
Vegetables sell for 50 times usual price as Palestinians scramble for food
People living in Gaza are facing exorbitant food prices as more than one million residents of the Palestinian territory face famine.
Since Israel’s invasion in October, it has become common for Gaza’s displaced population to share pictures of their shopping baskets and document how high prices have risen amid food shortages.
But in the southern city of Rafah, where most of Gaza’s population now live, onions cost 50 times their pre-war price and leafy vegetables – such as spinach, jute leaves and chard, which are common – sell for 25 times their former price, according to a new analysis by the humanitarian organisation Christian Aid.
William Bell, Christian Aid’s head of Middle East policy, said: “Due to a lack of humanitarian access, there is not enough available food for people to survive, let alone have a healthy diet. As a consequence, children in Gaza are dying of malnutrition and disease while the world turns a blind eye.”
The charity found that a litre of oil now costs £13, up from £4.25 ($5.40) before the war, while a 25kg bag of flour – which might be £15 in Rafah – could sell for more than £300 in northern Gaza, where humanitarian deliveries are limited.
You can read the full piece by Kaamil Ahmed here:
France to work on new UN Gaza ceasefire resolution after Russian and Chinese veto, says Macron
France will work on a new UN resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza following the Russian and Chinese veto against a resolution proposed by the US, French president Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, reports Reuters.
“Following Russia’s and China’s veto a few minutes ago, we are going to resume work on the basis of the French draft resolution in the security council and work with our American, European and Arab partners to reach an agreement,” Macron said at end of a EU leaders’ summit in Brussels.
France’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it had started drafting a resolution with diplomats, saying they would put a draft forward if the US resolution did not pass.
Updated
Israel to go into Rafah with or without US support, Netanyahu tells Blinken
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that Israel remained determined to send troops into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians are sheltering, and would do so without US backing if necessary.
According to Reuters, Netanyahu told the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken: “I hope we will do it with the support of the US, but if we have to - we will do it alone.”
Netanyahu said in a statement he had told Blinken, who is visiting Israel as part of his Middle East tour, that there was no way to defeat Hamas without going into Rafah.
Updated
Jason Burke in Jerusalem has additional comments on Gaza by James Elder, a spokesperson with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) in the below piece.
We reported earlier (10:59 GMT) on Elder saying he was “overwhelmed by loss” as he travelled through Khan Younis in southern Gaza. He also warned against a large scale military operation in Rafah calling the city “Gaza’s last hope”.
Jason Burke writes:
“The depth of the horror surpasses our ability to describe it,” said James Elder, a spokesperson with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).
“As soon as you drive through the north, you get that universal gesture of hunger of people putting their hands to their mouths. A lot of children, women with very gaunt faces. In [the city of] Khan Younis, there is utter annihilation.
“I’ve not seen that level of devastation in 20 years with the UN. People’s coping capacity in the north has been smashed and in the south it is hanging by a thread,” Elder said in an interview on Friday.
Elder said that he saw a dozen “skeletal” children at Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia in the north of Gaza.
“We are seeing severe malnutrition cases … Children who are on the brink of death, just skin and bones … and these are the ones who have managed to get to hospital. There is a real fear for those that can’t,” Elder said. “This is man-made and preventable.”
Medical staff at the hospital worked 36-hour shifts and then joined their families to search for clean water, food or shelter, Elder said.
Russia and China veto US resolution calling for immediate ceasefire in Gaza
Russia and China on Friday vetoed a US-sponsored UN resolution calling for “an immediate and sustained ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to protect civilians and enable humanitarian aid to be delivered to more than two million hungry Palestinians.
According to the Associated Press (AP), the vote in the 15-member security council was 11 members in favour, three against and one abstention.
Before the vote, Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow supports an immediate ceasefire, but he questioned the language in the resolution and accused the US secretary of state Antony Blinken and US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield of “misleading the international community” for “politicised” reasons, says AP.
Updated
Spain, Ireland, Malta, Slovenia agree to work towards Palestinian state recognition
According to Reuters, Spain has agreed with the leaders of Ireland, Malta and Slovenia to take the first steps towards recognising a Palestinian state, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez said on Friday following a meeting of the European Council in Brussels.
UN security council does not pass US resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
In breaking news, Reuters reports that the UN security council did not pass the US resolution calling for an “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza as part of a hostage deal.
Updated
UN seeks $4bn for aid in Syria as civilians face growing humanitarian crisis
A UN humanitarian official appealed on Friday for more than $4bn (£3.17bn) in aid for more than 10 million Syrians, saying that the country’s largely forgotten crisis remains “one of the most deadly to civilians in the world”, reports the Associated Press (AP).
Adam Abdelmoula, resident coordinator in Syria for the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, made the appeal days after Syria marked the 13th anniversary of the conflict that has killed nearly a half million people and left large parts of the country destroyed.
“Today, we are facing an unprecedented situation in Syria - one that we cannot afford to ignore,” Abdelmoula told reporters in Geneva. “Inaction will be costly for all of us and will inevitably lead to additional suffering.”
About 16.7 million people require some form of humanitarian assistance in Syria, an increase from 15.3 million last year, he said. More than seven million people are internally displaced and nearly as many are refugees in other countries, including neighbouring Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, reports the AP.
The war has left 90% of Syria’s population below the poverty line as millions face cuts in food aid because of a funding shortfall. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) ended its main assistance program in the country in January.
“The Syria crisis remains one of the most deadly to civilians in the world. Hostilities continue to plague various parts of Syria and have recently seen a sharp spike, especially in the north,” Abdelmoula said.
He suggested that Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza had given cover for more military activity in parts of Syria.
“We saw the world’s attention focusing on Gaza, and that provided some kind of diversion of attention that allowed the significant escalation of hostilities in the northeast without much attention being paid to that situation by the international community,” Abdelmoula said.
“We are competing with so many crises. If you look at the global picture, you have Gaza, you have Ukraine, you have Sudan, you have Afghanistan ... and the list goes on and on,” he said.
“With each emerging crisis, the Syria one that is now over a decade old keeps being pushed to the back burner,” said Abdelmoula. “We are struggling to keep it in the global attention. And that is proving to be challenging every year.”
Ismail al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza, said the misidentification and the inclusion of pictures of medical staff and people outside the country by the Israeli military in a composite picture of what was described as detainees from al-Shifa hospital showed it was spreading false narratives to justify its assault on the medical complex.
R Adm Daniel Hagari, Israel’s main military spokesperson, displayed a composite picture of what were described as detainees from al-Shifa hospital during a briefing late on Thursday.
Reuters reports that on Friday, the Israeli military said some of the photographs were of militants who had not been detained but whose pictures were included through human error.
According to the Times of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli internal security forces, known as the Shin Bet, denied the composite was an attempt at “psychological warfare.”
In a joint statement published on the Israeli online newspaper’s article, the IDF and Shin Bet said: “Due to human error, there are several photos in the graphic of terrorists who have not yet been caught but are, according to the information we have, in the area of the hospital and are holed up there.”
The Times of Israel said the IDF would “provide the identities of all those it had captured once the operation at Shifa is over”.
Israeli troops entered the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City in the early hours of Monday morning and have been combing through the sprawling complex, which the military says is connected to a tunnel network used as a base for Palestinian fighters.
It says troops have killed hundreds of fighters in the operation and also detained more than 500 suspects, including 358 members of the Islamist militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas or Islamic Jihad. Hamas and medical staff deny that the hospital is used for military purposes or to shelter fighters.
In recent days, Hamas spokespeople have said that the dead announced in previous Israeli statements were not fighters but patients and displaced people and have accused Israel of war crimes.
The US secretary of state Antony Blinken has spent around 40 minutes in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, Reuters reports.
Ahead of the meeting, Blinken said he would push for more aid to flow into Gaza and address the growing gap between the two countries. Blinken also met the Israeli war cabinet.
“A hundred percent of the population of Gaza is experiencing severe levels of acute food insecurity. We cannot, we must not allow that to continue,” Blinken told a news conference on Thursday evening.
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Palestine has condemned Israel’s declaration that an 800 hectare (1,977 acres) section of the occupied West Bank is state land.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the latest move was “a continuation of the extermination and displacement of our people from their homeland,” Reuters reports.
“The international failure to protect our people is complicity and cover for Israel’s ongoing evasion of punishment,” it added.
The move has underlined Israel’s determination to press ahead with settlement building in the West Bank, despite growing international opposition.
Israel has reported the seizure of 800 hectares (1,977 acres) of land in the occupied West Bank, which activists called the largest action of its kind in decades.
AFP reports:
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared as “state lands” the area in the northern Jordan Valley, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel for Gaza war talks.
Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said the size of the seized area is the largest since 1993’s Oslo Accords, and that “2024 marks a peak in the extent of declarations of state land”.
Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
“While there are those in Israel and the world who seek to undermine our right over the Judea and Samaria area and the country in general, we are promoting settlement through hard work and in a strategic manner all over the country,” Smotrich said, using Israel’s term for the West Bank.
Settlements in the Palestinian territories are illegal under international law.
Portugal gives €10m to Unrwa as new additional aid
Portugal said on Thursday it would give €10m ($10.89m/£8.6m) to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (Unrwa) as a one-off contribution intended to provide food, medicine, and humanitarian aid to Palestinians, reports Reuters.
The amount was announced by acting cabinet affairs minister Mariana Vieira da Silva following a cabinet meeting. According to the news agency, a foreign ministry official described the amount as new additional aid that had not been in the state budget for 2024.
Portugal cannot accept to be indifferent to the terrible humanitarian situation of the Palestinian people. Supporting @UNRWA is the best way for aid to reach those who need it. Israel must urgently facilitate the delivery of this humanitarian aid. https://t.co/oVYAIjOInv
— João Cravinho (@JoaoCravinho) March 21, 2024
Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner general of Unrwa, expressed his thanks via social media on Friday. He wrote on X:
Thank you Portugal [and] João Cravinho, for your new contribution to Unrwa. Your decision comes at a time of unprecedented challenges and will support our efforts to reverse the impact of the looming famine in Gaza and to provide lifeline services to Palestine refugees across the region. I hope other countries will follow your solidarity.”
UK aid-funded field hospital is 'up and running in Gaza', says foreign office
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office announced on Friday that a UK aid-funded field hospital is “now up and running in Gaza”.
In a social media post on its X account, the UK Foreign Office said the hospital will treat more than 100 patients a day and “make a real difference on the ground”. The hospital is run by the medical and humanitarian NGO, UK-Med.
UK-Med posted a YouTube link to a video which showed its CEO, David Wightwick, on a tour of the hospital in Gaza.
“With the emergency department, operating theatre and inpatient wards currently under construction, this facility will be able to treat at least 250 patients per day,” UK-Med said.
A UK Aid-funded field hospital is now up and running in Gaza.@UKMed's hospital will treat more than 100 patients a day and make a real difference on the ground ⤵️ https://t.co/nyic4II2pW
— Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) March 22, 2024
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'Rafah is Gaza's last hope', says Unicef spokesperson
Unicef spokesperson James Elder said he is “overwhelmed by loss” as he travelled through Khan Younis in southern Gaza and narrated a video published on the UN agency’s X account.
“Moving around these streets, I'm overwhelmed by loss.”
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) March 21, 2024
UNICEF Spokesperson @1james_elder in Khan Younis, Gaza. pic.twitter.com/4xkxHrbIDD
Speaking as the video showed images of destroyed buildings in the city, Elder said:
I don’t need to explain what you are seeing right now in Khan Younis. It’s obvious. Utter annihilation.”
What you don’t see are the memories in these broken homes. You don’t see the embrace of that mother and her toddler. You can’t smell the dinner that was once made by a grandmother for her family.
Moving around these streets, I’m overwhelmed by loss.
“And then I think of Rafah and the endless talk of a large scale military operation in Rafah. I think of this in Rafah,” he said, calling Rafah “a city of children” and “Gaza’s last hope”.
Elder said:
Rafah is a city of children - 600,000 girls and boys are there. A military offensive in Rafah? I mean, yeah, offensive is the right word. Rafah is home to some of Gaza’s last remaining hospitals and shelters and markets and water systems. Rafah is Gaza’s last hope. And yet, in the shadow of so, so many brutal scenes like this all across Gaza, voices are converging to contemplate doing it all again in Rafah.
The world’s madness on edge for the unfolding horror. Whatever voice, whatever influence we have now is the time to use it … for the children of Rafah.”
Earlier, the UK and Australia issued a joint statement warning of “potentially devastating consequences” of an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah in Gaza.
The US secretary of state Antony Blinken, who is in Israel today to press for a truce in Gaza ahead of a key UN security council vote on a draft resolution by the US calling for an “immediate” ceasefire, said on Thursday that a major Israeli ground assault on the southern Gaza town of Rafah would be “a mistake” and unnecessary to defeating Hamas.
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Here are some of the latest images on the newswires:
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The Times of Israel is reporting that Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz has summoned Turkey’s deputy ambassador to Israel for a reprimand after Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan vowed to “send [Netanyahu] to Allah to take care of him, make him miserable and curse him,” during an election rally yesterday.
The purpose of the summons, Katz wrote in a social media post on X, is to “convey a clear message to Erdoğan”.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said on Friday that its disaster risk management teams have started a project to distribute fresh bread daily to displaced families in the al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis and Rafah governorates in Gaza.
According to a social media post on X, 20,000 loaves of bread have been distributed by the teams, benefiting approximately 1,000 families.
The PRCS Disaster Risk Management teams have started a project to distribute fresh bread daily to displaced families in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis and Rafah governorates. The total distributed so far has reached 20,000 loaves, benefiting approximately 1,000 families. pic.twitter.com/oLrTTBeIHw
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) March 22, 2024
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Finland has announced plans to reinstate funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (Unrwa) after suspending its €5m (£4.29m) annual payments to the aid organisation in January.
Finland was one of 16 major donors that suspended payments after Israel accused a dozen staff at the aid organisation of involvement in the 7 October Hamas attack. The Unrwa denies the charge and says no substantial evidence has been provided to support the allegation.
Ville Tavio, Finland’s minister for foreign trade and development, said on Friday that while he had read reports that there were shortcomings in the Unrwa risk management, there was insufficient information about alleged connections to supporting Hamas to continue withholding funding.
The Finns party member said the government had received sufficient information to re-start the payments. However, he said 10% of the support would be allocated to improving risk management.
“We allocate ten percent of the support, i.e. €500,000, to risk management. That money is used to monitor the implementation of policies regarding abuses. In the future, we also require Unrwa to hold annual bilateral discussions with Finland on how the enhancement of risk management will proceed.”
Finland will closely monitor the investigation work into Unrwa in cooperation with other countries, he added.
“I am especially waiting for the final report of the UN internal audit unit OIOS. It is of the utmost importance for Finland to ensure that our money does not end up benefiting terrorism. However, the investigation will take time, and Unrwa cannot be replaced as a humanitarian actor in Gaza in the short term.”
Antony Blinken in Tel Aviv to discuss alternatives to Israel's planned ground assault in Rafah
US secretary of state Antony Blinken has arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel, on the final stop in his sixth trip to the region since the start of the war.
Blinken said he would share alternatives to Israel’s planned ground assault into the southern Gaza town of Rafah during talks with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet.
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The Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that “hundreds of worshipers” were “blocked” from reaching the al-Aqsa mosque compound by Israeli forces on Friday.
According to Wafa: “Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli forces significantly increased their military presence around checkpoints in Qalandia, north of Jerusalem, al-Zaytouna, east of Jerusalem, and Bethlehem to the south. The forces turned back hundreds of worshipers, citing a lack of necessary entry permits.”
The news agency say worshipers were on their way to perform the second Friday prayer of the holy month of Ramadan.
David Cameron accuses Israel of blocking key aid crossing in Gaza
David Cameron has accused Israel of demanding the closure of a key aid crossing into Gaza, in a clash with a British-born government spokesperson that has reportedly resulted in the official’s suspension.
In a blistering letter, the UK foreign secretary said aid was not getting into Gaza owing to “arbitrary denials by the government of Israel and lengthy clearance procedures, including multiple screenings and narrow opening windows in daylight hours”.
The spokesperson, Eylon Levy, whom Israeli media reported as having been suspended, had tweeted Lord Cameron suggesting Israel was not placing any obstacles in the delivery of aid.
Levy has not commented on the cause of his suspension, but British MPs said some of the claims were not cleared inside the Israeli government. There were also reports of a previous clash between Levy and Cameron that had created tensions.
In a letter to the chair of the foreign affairs select committee chairwoman, Alicia Kearns, Cameron denied a claim by Levy that the UN had requested Kerem Shalom crossing be closed on Saturdays. Cameron said Israel closes the vital aid crossing for the Sabbath.
The tone of the Cameron letter is remarkable for the frankness with which he attributes the problems in distributing aid, flatly contradicting Israeli assertions that the number of aid trucks crossing into Gaza had reached a satisfactory level.
You can read Patrick Wintour’s full piece here:
China says it supports UN security council taking 'meaningful' action on Gaza war
China said on Friday it supported steps by the UN security council to end fighting in Gaza, while not saying whether Beijing, a permanent council member with veto power, would support a US draft resolution on the need for an immediate ceasefire, reports AFP.
“China supports the security council in taking further responsible and meaningful actions as soon as possible to make unremitting efforts to end the fighting in Gaza at an early date,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
The US will submit for a vote on Friday a draft to the security council on the need for “an immediate ceasefire”.
The latest version, seen by AFP, notes the necessity for “an immediate and sustained ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides, allow for the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance, and alleviate humanitarian suffering”.
It thereby supports “diplomatic efforts to secure such a ceasefire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.”
However, the text does not explicitly use the word “call,” instead stating that a ceasefire is imperative, which Russia says is too weak, reports AFP.
According to the news agency, when asked on Friday whether it supported the resolution, Beijing demurred. “The international community expects the security council to earnestly fulfil its responsibilities,” Lin said.
“On the Palestinian-Israeli issue, we must respect history and facts, listen to and respect the position and voice of the majority of Arab countries, realise a ceasefire and end of fighting as soon as possible,” he added.
“This is the yardstick by which we measure the security council’s actions and decisions,” he said.
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Israeli military says its troops have captured hundreds of fighters in Gaza hospital
The Israeli military’s spokesperson said its forces have detained hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, including a number of security officials and military commanders, during its extended raid into Gaza’s main hospital, reports Reuters.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas or Islamic Jihad. Hamas and medical staff deny that the hospital is used for military purposes or to shelter fighters.
In recent days, Hamas spokespeople have said that the dead announced in previous Israeli statements were not fighters but patients and displaced people and have accused Israel of war crimes.
Israeli troops entered the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City in the early hours of Monday morning and have been combing through the sprawling complex, which the military claim is connected to a tunnel network used as a base for Palestinian fighters.
It says troops have killed hundreds of fighters and detained more than 500 suspects, including 358 members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the largest number since the beginning of the war nearly six months ago.
R Adm Daniel Hagari, Israel’s main military spokesperson, said special forces units had used “deception tactics” to surprise the fighters and had severely damaged Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
According to Reuters reporting, among the detainees were three senior Islamic Jihad military commanders and two Hamas officials responsible for operations in the occupied West Bank as well as other Hamas internal security officials.
“Those who did not surrender to our forces fought against our forces and were eliminated,” Hagari told a briefing late on Thursday.
Al-Shifa, the Gaza Strip’s biggest hospital before the war, is now one of the few healthcare facilities even partially operational in the north of the territory, and had also been housing displaced civilians.
Israel faced heavy criticism last November when troops first raided the hospital. The troops uncovered tunnels there, which they said had been used as command and control centres by Hamas.
Reuters has been unable to access the hospital and verify either account.
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Finland to resume funding to Unrwa
Finland will resume funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (Unrwa), its foreign trade and development minister said on Friday, reports Reuters.
Several countries, including the US and the UK, paused their funding to Unrwa after accusations by Israel that a dozen of the agency’s 13,000 staff in Gaza took part in the 7 October Hamas attack in Israel.
“Unrwa improving its risk management, meaning preventing and initiating close monitoring for misconduct, provides sufficient guarantees for us at this point to continue our support,” Finland’s foreign trade and development minister Ville Tavio said.
According to Reuters, he told a press conference some of the Finnish money would be earmarked for risk management.
Countries including Canada, Australia and Sweden have also restored funding to Unrwa, while several Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia have increased funding.
Australia and UK call for 'immediate cessation of fighting’ in Gaza and warn of 'potentially devastating consequences' of Israeli operation in Rafah
Australian and UK foreign and defence ministers on Friday stressed the “urgency of an immediate cessation of fighting in Gaza to allow aid to flow and hostages to be released”, in a statement after talks in Adelaide, reports AFP.
The call came just hours before the US was expected to put a resolution to the UN security council that would stress the need for “an immediate ceasefire”.
London’s call for an “immediate cessation of fighting” is a sign that the UK is also growing more anxious about the toll and impact of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
The UK and Australia said a cessation was now urgently needed to “allow aid to flow and hostages to be released as a crucial step toward a permanent, sustainable ceasefire”.
The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, Australian defence minister Richard Marles and UK defence secretary Grant Shapps called the humanitarian crisis in Gaza “catastrophic” and “called on Israel to allow immediate, safe, unimpeded and increased humanitarian relief to reach Palestinians in Gaza”.
According to Reuters, a joint statement was released on Friday after the defence and foreign secretaries of the UK met with their Australian counterparts in Adelaide. The statement warns that there were potentially devastating consequences of an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah in Gaza.
“Given the large number of displaced persons taking refuge in the area and lack of safe spaces in Gaza, ministers shared deep concern at the potentially devastating consequences for the civilian population of an expanded Israeli military operation in Rafah,” the statement said.
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EU and US pile on pressure for Gaza ceasefire
EU leaders have overcome their differences to call for an “immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza, hours before the US is expected to bring a resolution to a vote at the UN calling for a truce and a hostage deal without delay in the face of a looming famine.
The EU declaration, at a Brussels summit late on Thursday, marked the first time European leaders had agreed a declaration on the Middle East since October. The US draft resolution to be put to a vote in the UN security council on Friday morning also reflects greater urgency in Washington’s position. It is the first time the Biden administration has put forward language calling for an “immediate ceasefire”, although it continues to link a truce with a hostage deal.
The council will vote on the US resolution at the same time as CIA and the Mossad spy chiefs William Burns and David Barnea are expected to arrive in Qatar on Friday in the hope of clinching an elusive truce-for-hostages deal between Israel and Hamas. Speaking in Egypt, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said difficult work remained to be done but added: “I continue to believe it’s possible.”
The EU declaration calls for the “unconditional release of all hostages” by Hamas, but does not make its demand for a halt to Israeli military operations dependent on a deal. In Brussels, Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, said all 27 EU members had agreed “a strong and unified statement on the Middle East” which including a call for “full and safe humanitarian access into Gaza”.
The eight-paragraph EU text expressed deep concern over the “imminent risk of famine caused by insufficient entry of aid into Gaza”.
You can read the full piece, with reporting by Julian Borger in Washington, Lisa O’Carroll in Brussels and Peter Beaumont in London, here:
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Ana Lucía González Paz, Lucy Swan, Paul Scruton and Harvey Symons and have created a visual guide to the obstacles to Gaza aid deliveries. The handy explainer features maps, charts and graphics, and analysis by former Jerusalem correspondent Oliver Holmes.
You can view it here:
Blinken to hold talks with Netanyahu in Israel
The US secretary of state Antony Blinken is heading to Israel on Friday to press for a truce in Gaza, ahead of a key UN security council vote on a draft resolution by the US calling for an “immediate” ceasefire.
Israel’s main backer the US announced it would submit the resolution on Friday, after repeatedly using its veto power to block other similarly worded resolutions, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
It comes as a statement by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel’s spy chief David Barnea would travel to Qatar on Friday to meet truce mediators.
Blinken said on Thursday in Cairo that a major Israeli ground assault on the southern Gaza town of Rafah would be “a mistake” and unnecessary to defeating Hamas.
His comments underscore the further souring of relations between the US and Israel, according to the Associated Press (AP).
In Gaza, Israel said it expected to continue attacks on al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City for a few more days. The facility, where residents reported tanks, gunfire and flames on Thursday, is the only partially working medical facility in the north of the enclave and has already been under attack for four days.
Israel says Hamas gunmen are holding out at the medical complex, something Hamas denies.
Blinken is on his sixth urgent mission to the Middle East since the war began in October. It’s understood growing disagreements between Netanyahu and US president, Joe Biden, over the prosecution of the war could overshadow those talks.
Welcome and opening summary
It has gone 9am in Gaza and Tel Aviv. This is our latest Guardian live blog on the Israel-Gaza war and the wider Middle East crisis.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, is to meet with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as he heads to Israel for talks. He’s due to press for a truce as the US prepares to put a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to a vote of the UN security council.
Meanwhile, Israel’s spy chief, David Barnea, is also due to travel to Qatar on Friday for ceasefire negotiations.
More on that in a moment but first, a summary of the latest developments:
EU leaders have overcome their differences to call for an “immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza, hours before the US is expected to bring a resolution to a vote at the UN calling for a truce and a hostage deal without delay in the face of a looming famine.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken said that negotiating teams are working “every single day” on a deal to get a ceasefire in Gaza in conjunction with a deal to release the remaining hostages taken from Israel into Gaza by Hamas. He added that there are still “real challenges” to a deal and he can not put a timeline on it, Reuters reports.
UK foreign secretary David Cameron has accused Israel of demanding the closure of a key aid crossing into Gaza, in a clash with a British-born government spokesperson that has reportedly resulted in the official’s suspension.
Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives, said on Thursday that he plans to invite Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before the US Congress. The comments come a week after Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate leader, called for elections in Israel which could oust Netanyahu, claiming the prime minister has “has lost his way”.
Cyprus is planning to get “as many boats as possible” to Gaza along a maritime corridor, Cyprus’s foreign minister, Constantinos Kombos, said, Agence France-Presse reports. In a meeting on Thursday, Cyprus hosted representatives from 36 countries, UN agencies and humanitarian groups in the port of Larnaca, where the first aid vessel set sail to Gaza earlier this month.
World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Ghebreyesus said that the “future of an entire generation is in serious peril” in Gaza. Adding that children are dying from the effects of malnutrition and disease, and from a lack of adequate water and sanitation, the WHO director-general said: “Recent efforts to deliver food by air and sea are welcome, but only the expansion of land crossings will enable large scale deliveries to prevent famine.”
Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, has said that she will visit the Middle East on Sunday. It will be her seventh visit since the 7 October attack inside southern Israel by Hamas.
Australia and Britain have said in a joint statement there were potentially devastating consequences of an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah in Gaza.
“Given the large number of displaced persons taking refuge in the area and lack of safe spaces in Gaza, ministers shared deep concern at the potentially devastating consequences for the civilian population of an expanded Israeli military operation in Rafah,” the statement said. It also called on Israel to allow immediate, safe, unimpeded and increased humanitarian relief to reach Palestinians in Gaza.A second ship, the Jennifer, capable of transporting up to 600 tons, will ply the newly inaugurated sea corridor connecting Cyprus with Gaza as soon as weather conditions allow. “It will go either at the end of this week or the beginning of next due to weather conditions,” Cyprus’s foreign ministry spokesperson Theodoros Gotsis told the Guardian of the second aid mission.
Satellite images analysed by the UN’s Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) showed that 35% of the Gaza Strip’s buildings have been destroyed or damaged by Israel since October. Khan Younis City had been hit “particularly hard”, it said, with 6,663 newly destroyed structures.
