UN vote on Gaza Camp ceasefire delayed by USA

Negotiators at the UN have delayed the latest resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza for another day in hope of reaching an agreed text, Reuters reports.

When asked if they were getting close to an agreement, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters yesterday. We’re trying, we really are. Washington has twice used its veto to shield Israel from international demands for a ceasefire.

Since the last truce collapsed at the start of this month, Israel’s genocidal bombing campaign has entered a more intensive phase.

Israel’s government has faced domestic political pressure to reach a further agreement to free prisoners of war held in Gaza, especially after acknowledging last week that troops mistakenly killed three of those taken while they waved white flags in an effort to be saved.

Israel believes 129 prisoners of war remain in Gaza, of whom 21 are feared to have died. Hamas has said more than 70 prisoners of war have been killed by Israel’s brutal bombing campaign in the Strip.

In the north, where Israeli military forces claimed to have achieved most of their military objectives last month, fighting has been more intense than ever.

Huge orange balls of flame and towers of black smoke soared into the sky over the northern Gaza Strip as seen from across the fence in Israel, as Israeli warplanes pounded the area at dawn.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli forces had besieged its ambulance depot in Jabalia, a northern settlement that has been the site of some of the most intensive fighting. There are 127 people in the facility including workers, displaced people and wounded.

In the south, where most of Gaza’s residents are now sheltering after fleeing other areas, there has been intense fighting around the center of the main southern city Khan Yunis, which Israeli forces have partly stormed.

All the night bombing didn’t stop. Their focus now is Khan Yunis. People here have to deal with two wars all the time, bombing and hunger, said Samir Ali, 45, a father of five from Gaza City in the north now sheltering in Khan Younis.

International aid organizations say the enclave’s 2.3 million residents have been driven to the brink of catastrophe by destruction that has forced 90% of them from their homes and a blockade restricting access to food and medical supplies.

Middle East Monitor / ABC Flash Point News 2023.