9 killed in an Israeli bombing of a house west of Nuseirat camp

For the first time, Washington presented to the member states of the UN Security Council a draft resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire linked to the release of the hostages” in the Gaza Strip, where the war between Israel and Hamas continues, claiming more casualties and threatening the population with famine, according to the report. «Agence France-Presse».

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken revealed the project in television statements on Wednesday night, on the sidelines of his visit to Saudi Arabia, the first leg of a Middle Eastern tour that he will complete on Thursday in Egypt, and which will lead him to Israel on Friday.

This is the sixth time that Blinken has visited the region since the outbreak of war between the Hebrew state and Hamas on October 7.

Blinken visited Jeddah yesterday (Wednesday), where he met with Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, and arrived in Egypt today, Thursday, to meet with the “Arab Six-Party Committee” in the second leg of his sixth tour in the region since the outbreak of the war. He will visit Israel on Friday.

From the beginning, Washington provided broad political and military support to its ally, Israel, and used its veto in the Security Council to prevent the issuance of resolutions calling for a ceasefire.

However, Washington has recently increased its criticism of Israel regarding the high human cost of the Gaza war, urging it to do more to protect civilians, allow more humanitarian aid, and avoid a ground invasion of Rafah, in the absence of a plan to protect the population.

The international community has intensified its efforts to reach a truce in the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands of its residents are suffering from famine, amid comprehensive destruction and the bodies of the dead piled up under the rubble.

The Hamas Ministry of Health said on Thursday morning that about 70 people were killed as a result of Israeli bombing and operations during the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, battles continued in Gaza City (north), especially around the largest “Al-Shifa Medical Complex” in the Strip, 3 days after the Israeli army announced the start of an operation in the region.

The army said Thursday that it is continuing its operations inside and around this complex, which has been surrounded by tanks and armored vehicles since dawn on Monday, stressing that its soldiers killed “more than 140” Palestinian fighters.

Maryam (42 years old), one of thousands who were displaced and took shelter in the “Al-Shifa Complex,” said, “The army fired shells all night at us in the maternity ward and the internal medicine department, and they asked us at about one in the morning via loudspeaker to come out, otherwise they would bomb the building on us.” We are here, hundreds of women, children and babies, and we have no food or water.”

She told Agence France-Presse that the army asked all the men and young men to come out after taking off their clothes, tied them up and gathered them in the hospital courtyard “with their heads to the ground,” and that the soldiers opened fire on them before taking them out of the hospital.

She continued: “If we go out, they may shoot us or torture us.”

It is not known how many casualties the operation left in the “Al-Shifa Complex” and its surroundings, but the Hamas Ministry of Health spoke of “dozens” of dead and wounded who could not be reached in the neighborhoods of Al-Rimal, Al-Nasr, and Al-Shati Camp.

“Strong message”

On the diplomatic level, Blinken said, on Wednesday evening, in his interview with the Saudi “Al-Hadath” channel, that Washington had put forward a draft law in the “Security Council” that addresses an immediate ceasefire.

He said: “We have already submitted a draft resolution, which is now before the Security Council, and it calls for an immediate ceasefire linked to the release of the hostages, and we very much hope that it will receive support from countries.”

He expressed his belief that this project “will send a strong message; With a strong indicator.”

Since the beginning of the war, the United States has used its veto power to prevent the issuance of Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. But in the face of the humanitarian catastrophe that befell Gaza, where famine threatens the largest portion of the population of 2.4 million people, according to the United Nations, the Americans are making efforts to reach a truce that will allow more aid to enter the Strip.

Blinken was keen to say: “Of course we stand by Israel and its right to defend itself… but at the same time, it is necessary that we focus on civilians who are being harmed and suffering horribly, and give them priority.”

The wording of the draft resolution speaks of “the need for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides, to enable the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance, and to alleviate human suffering, and to this end, it unequivocally supports the ongoing international diplomatic efforts to achieve such a ceasefire in connection with the release of all The remaining hostages.

A truce agreement is “very possible”

In parallel with Blinken’s tour, talks are being held in Doha, mediated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, to reach a truce.

Blinken said: “I believe that the gap is narrowing, and that reaching an agreement is very possible.”

The latest round of negotiations is based on a proposal put forward by Hamas, which is based, in the first stage, on a six-week truce in exchange for the exchange of the release of Israeli hostages it holds and Palestinian detainees.

The leader of the movement, Osama Hamdan, said on Wednesday that Israel’s response to this proposal was “generally negative,” and it could “lead the negotiations toward a dead end.”

The war broke out on October 7, following an attack by Hamas on southern Israel. Israel estimates that about 130 hostages are still being held in Gaza, including 33 who are believed to have died, out of about 250 people kidnapped in the attack. agitation”.

Israel vowed to eliminate the movement, and carried out a campaign of concentrated bombing, followed by a massive ground attack. As a result, 31,988 people were killed and 74,188 wounded, the majority of whom were women and children, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007.

The United States has been pressuring Israel in recent weeks to refrain from launching a large-scale ground attack on the city of Rafah in the far south of the Strip, which has become the last refuge for more than 1.5 million Palestinians, according to the United Nations.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not stop repeating his intention to move forward with his plan to launch a ground attack on Rafah, which he deems necessary to “eliminate” Hamas, even if he agrees to send a delegation to Washington to discuss the details of the plan at the request of President Joe Biden.

In an effort to increase aid and alleviate a little the suffering of the population, several countries are carrying out daily airdrops of food packages, and a sea corridor has been launched from Cyprus to Gaza for this purpose.

But relief agencies stress that these supply routes cannot replace land routes.

Shortly after the outbreak of war, Israel tightened its siege on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army and administration control everything that enters and exits, including people, aid, and goods.

The United Nations confirms that the strict security restrictions imposed by Israel impede the entry of humanitarian aid by land, through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

The Commissioner of the United Nations Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, warned this week that “the blockade, hunger and diseases will soon become the main causes of death in Gaza.”