Half of Gaza population starving, as UN prepares to vote on ceasefire

Hunger was worsening among Palestinians in the besieged Gaza strip, aid agencies said, as the UN General Assembly prepared to vote on Tuesday on an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the two-month-old conflict between Israel and Hamas. Hundreds more civilians have died in Israel’s assault on Gaza since the US on Friday vetoed a Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire. Follow our live blog for the latest developments on the Israel-Hamas war. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).

Summary:

• Israeli tanks moved further into Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis.
• Israel carried out intense air strikes in northern Gaza.
• The White House said it is “concerned” over reports that Israel’s military is using white phosphorus bombs in Lebanon. 
• Israel said it is prepared to fight for months or longer to defeat Gaza’s Hamas rulers.
• Hamas has threatened that not a single hostage will be allowed to leave Gaza alive unless its prisoner exchange demands are met.
• Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes and residents say it is impossible to find refuge or food in the densely populated coastal enclave. 
• The UN World Food Programme has said half of the population is starving.
• Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking some 240 hostages, according to the Israeli government. Since then, 18,205 people have been killed in Israel’s ensuing assault on the Gaza Strip, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. At least 49,645 people have been wounded and at least 7,600 people are missing, according to the Hamas media office.

Key developments:

• Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday that Israel had no intention of staying permanently in the Gaza Strip.
• UN Security Council ambassadors traveled to Egypt on Monday to visit the Rafah border crossing with the besieged Gaza Strip, days after the United States vetoed a council resolution for a ceasefire.
• European Union foreign ministers on Monday considered possible next steps in response to the Middle East crisis, including a crackdown on Hamas’s finances and travel bans for Israeli settlers responsible for violence in the West Bank.
• Israel‘s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called for Hamas militants to lay down their arms, saying the Palestinian Islamist group’s end was near.
• Hamas warned that no hostages would leave Gaza alive unless its demands for prisoner release are met.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)