UN vote on Gaza ceasefire, aid delivery delayed for third straight day
Proposal for UN to monitor all aid shipments into Gaza is sticking point as U.S., Egypt continue to negotiate
The latest:
- UN vote delayed again due to the draft resolution's language on ceasefire and aid monitoring.
- Airstrikes hit Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
- Hamas leader visits Egypt.
- Israel claims to find Hamas underground network.
A United Nations Security Council vote to call for a ceasefire and to boost aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip has been delayed for a third time, as last-minute negotiations take place between the United States and Egypt for UN aid monitoring, diplomats said on Wednesday.
Egypt is not a council member, but it borders Gaza and, until recently, was the only entry point for aid to the Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million people.
Israel inspects all humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza coming in via the Rafah crossing from Egypt. However, the Security Council resolution — drafted by the United Arab Emirates and backed by Egypt — essentially aims to dilute Israel's control.
After more than a week of negotiations and several days of vote delays, diplomats said the U.S. is unhappy that the draft asks UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to establish a UN mechanism "to exclusively monitor all humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza provided through land, sea and air routes of those States that are not parties to the conflict."
During a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, asked for a delay to allow for U.S. diplomacy with Egypt. She also raised concerns that the aid monitoring proposal could slow deliveries, diplomats said.
The 15-member council was initially expected to vote on the resolution on Monday but it has been delayed several times due to disagreements between the U.A.E. and the U.S. on language citing a cessation of hostilities and a proposal to set up UN aid monitoring.
As one of the five permanent members on the council, the U.S. has the power to veto the resolution even if the other Security Council member states back it. The U.S. has done this twice since Oct. 7, when the Hamas militant group launched a deadly attack on Israel, to protect its ally.
After the meeting, Lana Nusseibeh, the U.A.E.'s ambassador to the UN, told reporters that all sides are engaging "at the highest level of diplomacy" to reach a conclusion that will have an impact on the ground.
But regardless of what the diplomacy yields, she said: "This will go to a vote."
Israeli airstrikes hit Rafah
As diplomats continue discussing the UN resolution, Palestinians in Rafah are recovering from Israeli aerial attacks that rocked the city in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
The airstrikes hit close to the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah, destroying homes and a mosque, according to Al Jazeera, whose team was reporting live close to where the attacks happened.
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BBC's Adnan El-Bursh was reporting near the Kuwaiti Hospital when he saw "at least six missiles being dropped from Israeli fighter jets."
"The bombardment was heavy and sudden. The ground shook underneath me and clouds of smoke filled the air," he reported for the BBC.
According to the BBC, Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry says at least 12 people have been killed by the airstrikes.
More than 20,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed across the Gaza Strip since Israel began bombing the region, according to the Health Ministry.
Many internally displaced Gazans are seeking shelter in Rafah, which the UN's Palestinian refugee agency warned is lacking in humanitarian aid and is overcrowded.
"Population density is assessed to now exceed 12,000 people per square kilometre, a fourfold increase prior to the escalation," said the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
"Thousands of people line up before aid distribution centres in need of food, water, shelter and protection, amid the absence of latrines and adequate water and sanitation facilities in informal displacement sites and makeshift shelters."
Rafah is one of the cities Israel ordered Palestinians to go to in order to ensure their safety, but nevertheless, the area has been regularly bombarded by Israeli forces.
The rising death toll has put Israel under pressure to halt or scale back its offensive — including from U.S. President Joe Biden. Yet Israeli leaders have vowed to press ahead with their offensive.
"We will continue the war until the end. It will continue until Hamas is destroyed, until victory," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday. "Whoever thinks we will stop is detached from reality."
Attacks delay opening of neonatal clinic, says NGO
Among the buildings damaged in the Rafah attacks is a neonatal clinic run by Project Hope, an international global health and humanitarian aid organization.
The clinic, dedicated to providing care for pregnant individuals and newborns, was set to begin treating patients this week, said a Project Hope media relations manager in a statement to CBC News. But as the damage is being assessed, Project Hope has temporarily halted activities in Rafah.
"We were relieved to learn that all Project Hope team members are safe and accounted for," the statement read.
In another part of the statement, Chris Skopec, Project Hope's executive vice-president of global health, said attacks on civilian infrastructure "blatantly violate international humanitarian law" and show that "no one and no place is safe in Gaza, especially women and children."
"To prevent future deaths from injuries, disease or health complications, health workers need protection and robust access to medicine, medical supplies, nutritional assistance and electricity. Without, more people will die from preventable causes," he said.
The World Health Organization estimates that around 50,000 pregnant women currently reside in Gaza, with more than 180 of them giving birth every day. About 15 per cent of them are likely to experience pregnancy or birth-related complications.
Israel claims to find Hamas command centre
The Israeli military claims it has uncovered a major Hamas command centre in the heart of Gaza City, and inflicted what it describes as a serious blow to the militant group.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) says Hamas uses the vast underground network to move weapons, militants and supplies throughout the Gaza Strip. Israel has said destroying the tunnels is a major objective of its offensive.
"They all used this infrastructure routinely, during emergencies and also at the beginning of the war on Oct. 7," said IDF Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.
Hagari claims the tunnels stretch across Gaza and into major hospitals, but those claims could not be independently verified.
The announcement came as Hamas's top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, made his first visit to Egypt in more than a month, for talks aimed at brokering a temporary ceasefire and a new deal for Hamas to swap Israeli hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Haniyeh, who normally lives in Qatar, was to discuss the war with Egyptian officials, according to a statement from Hamas. It didn't provide more details, but a senior Palestinian official familiar with the talks told the BBC the meeting "ended without results."
The official told the BBC that Egypt "offered a proposal for another humanitarian truce," but Hamas rejected the idea of a "temporary solution" to the war.
Haniyeh last travelled to Egypt in early November, before the announcement of the week-long pause during which more than 100 hostages were released.
The two sides have recently relaunched indirect talks, mediated by Egypt and Qatar, aimed at instituting another ceasefire and freeing more hostages captured in the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Hamas and other militants are still holding an estimated 129 captives.
Despite a burst of activity by high-level officials in recent days, the two sides appeared to be far from an agreement.
Hamas has said no more hostages will be released until the war ends, and it's expected to insist on the release of large numbers of Palestinian prisoners. Israel is believed to be insisting that all remaining women and infirm men among the hostages be released.
Islamic Jihad, a smaller Palestinian militant group that is also holding hostages in Gaza, said its leader would also visit Egypt in the coming days to discuss a possible end to the war.
The negotiations come as Israel has faced increasing pressure from its international allies to curb a campaign in Gaza that has laid waste to much of the coastal enclave in retaliation for Hamas's killing spree on Oct. 7 that left 1,200 people dead, including several Canadians, and saw 240 people taken hostage. Several people reported to be hostages have since been confirmed as dead.
Washington, Israel's closest ally, has publicly called over the past week for it to scale down its all-out war into a more targeted campaign against Hamas leaders and end what Biden called "indiscriminate bombing."
As well, the United States is eager to see the release of eight American citizens currently in captivity.
With files from the Associated Press and CBC News