(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula online
Doha, Qatar: Israel continued it onslaught against Gaza on Saturday after the United States blocked United Nations bid to call for a ceasefire.
The Palestinian Authority swiftly condemned the US veto as the Israeli attacks kill 17,487, mostly women and children since October 7.
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[8:30am Doha Time] Reports of many casualties after pre-dawn bombing raids on Gaza
WAFA, the Palestinian news agency has reported that early morning bombardments by Israeli forces resulted in“dozens” of casualties in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip and Gaza City in the north.
Citing local, unnamed sources, Wafa reports that five people were killed when a residential home was attacked west of Rafah in the south.
There were also dozens of casualties when Israeli forces bombed residential homes in the vicinity of the Assahaba Medical Complex in central Gaza.
Rescue operations and the recovery of bodies from beneath the rubble were impossible due to the presence of Israeli tanks in the areas of the attack, the news agency reports.
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[8:00am Doha Time] WHO members call on Israel to protect aid workers in Gaza
More than a dozen members of the World Health Organization have called on Israel to uphold its obligations under international law to protect humanitarian workers in Gaza.
The draft resolution submitted on Friday expresses“grave concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, especially the military operations in the Gaza Strip”.
The resolution, which will be considered on Sunday during a special session of the WHO's Executive Board, was proposed by China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates.
US Ambassador Alternate Representative of the US for Special Political Affairs in the United Nations Robert A. Wood raises his hand during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Gaza, at UN headquarters in New York City on December 8, 2023. (Photo by Charly Triballeau / AFP)
[7:15am Doha Time] US says 'engaged in good faith' on ceasefire resolution at UN
Reiterating comments made during the UN Security Council session on Friday afternoon, the US mission to the UN said in a post on X that it“will continue the hard work of diplomacy”.
“To free hostages. To increase protection of civilians. To expand humanitarian aid. And to create an opportunity for Palestinians and Israelis to live side by side in peace and security,” the mission said.
Washington is facing widespread criticism for vetoing the resolution.
[7am Doha Time] Rights advocates react to US vetoing UNSC ceasefire resolution
Zeina Hutchison of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee says the move is“absolutely outrageous, particularly at a time where we are seeing a death toll that is unprecedented”.
“The fact that the United States is willing to veto a resolution on a ceasefire is mind-boggling,” she told Al Jazeera, adding that US President Joe Biden's administration is putting Israel above its own interests and the interests of US citizens.
“We're not discussing anything that is controversial; this should not be controversial, this is a ceasefire to save lives ... When are Palestinians human enough, that our lives matter, for a ceasefire?”
Here are some other reactions:
Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International:“The US has displayed a callous disregard for civilian suffering in the face of a staggering death toll, extensive destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe happening in the occupied Gaza Strip.”
Human Rights Watch:“By continuing to provide Israel with weapons [and] diplomatic cover as it commits atrocities, including collectively punishing the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza, the US risks complicity in war crimes.”
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