Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Wednesday there would be no ceasefire in the Gaza Strip until the "elimination" of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The announcement came as Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was in Cairo for talks aimed at brokering a new truce. A UN Security Council vote on a ceasefire resolution was postponed for a third time and is now set for Thursday. Read our live blog to see how all the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
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Summary:
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A United Nations Security Council vote on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war was postponed for a third time on Wednesday, the council’s presidency said, as members wrangled over wording. The vote is now set for Thursday.
- Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh is in Cairo for talks aimed at brokering a new truce, a day after Israeli President Isaac Herzog told foreign ambassadors that Israel was “ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid in order to enable the release of hostages”.
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The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) said it had delivered food into war-torn Gaza through the Israeli Kerem Shalom border crossing in the first direct aid convoy from Jordan.
- Residents of Khan Younis in Gaza reported intensifying gun battles between Hamas fighters and Israeli forces in the centre and eastern districts of the southern city.
- Israeli officials say 1,139 were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in southern Israel, among them 695 Israeli civilians, including 36 children.
- At least 20,000 people have been killed in Israel's ensuing assault on the Gaza Strip, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave.
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Key developments from yesterday:
- The US and a host of other nations are creating a new force to protect ships transiting the Red Sea that have come under attack by drones and ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced early Tuesday in Bahrain.
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog signalled readiness on the part of the country on Tuesday to enter another foreign-mediated "humanitarian pause" in fighting to recover more hostages held by Hamas and enable more aid to reach Gaza.
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”. The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
