A draft UN resolution calling for an “immediate and durable ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war has been circulated by the United States amid the famine in besieged Gaza.
Previous Security Council texts using the word “immediate” has been blocked by Washington, however, Blinken, the secretary of state confirmed a shift in position on Wednesday (Yesterday).
Blinken, who is due to meet five Arab foreign ministers in Egypt on Thursday (Today), emphasized any immediate truce must be related to the release of hostages snatched by Palestinian militants during the October 7 attack that set off the war.
The Israeli bombardment of Gaza continued overnight with the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory revealing that 70 people had been killed, with the overall tally nearing 32,000.
“We were sleeping safely when we heard a big blast,” Gaza resident Mahmud Abu Arar told AFP following an Israeli bombardment in the southern city of Rafah on Wednesday
However, Osama Hamdan a senior Hamas official based in Lebanon, said Israel’s response had been “largely negative” and called it “a step backwards”.
Join our WhatsApp community via https://goquick.ly/cj8q2 for instant and latest news updates.