Arriving in Israel for negotiations, Antony Blinken
On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken touched down in Tel Aviv, Israel, capping his sixth hurried journey to the area since the war’s commencement. When Blinken meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his War Cabinet, he claims he will provide alternatives to Israel’s proposed ground invasion into the southern Gaza town of Rafah.
A resolution supported by the US that declares “the imperative of an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israel-Hamas conflict will be put to a vote by the UN Security Council on Friday.
A “cease-fire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages” is also supported diplomatically, and “the urgent need to expand the flow of humanitarian assistance to civilians in the entire Gaza Strip” is emphasized.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, said on Thursday that there are now up to 60% of children under five who are malnourished, compared with less than 1% before the start of the conflict. This is because so little food has been allowed into Gaza.
The Gaza Health Ministry said on Thursday that there had been close to 32,000 Palestinian deaths in the enclave.
At last, relief vehicles arrive in northern Gaza straight from Israel.
On Thursday, relief trucks were seen traveling via a tunnel that Israeli officials had said earlier this month had been used as a “pilot program” to access northern Gaza from southern Israel. In northern Gaza, where 70% of the population is suffering from severe hunger, a UN food organization has issued a warning that “famine is imminent.” It issued a warning that the war’s intensification may drive half of the people to hunger.
