(AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back in Tel Aviv and, after meeting with top leaders Tuesday, said Israel must do more to lessen the Gaza war's toll on civilians and said Washington rejects any proposal for settling Palestinians outside the territory.
Hundreds of people have been killed in recent days as the Israeli offensive’s focus shifts to the southern city of Khan Younis and built-up refugee camps in central Gaza. The entire 2.3 million population is also in a food crisis, with 576,000 people at catastrophic or starvation levels.
Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed at least four members of Hezbollah, a day after a similar attack killed a commander with the militant group. Israel claimed it killed Ali Hussein Barji, who it said was in charge of Hezbollah’s drones in the south, but a Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with the group’s regulations, said he was only a fighter.
Hamas' Oct. 7 attack from Gaza into southern Israel triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people, and militants took some 250 others hostage. Israel’s air, ground and sea assault in Gaza has killed more than 23,000 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. The count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Currently:
— Hezbollah launches drone strike on northern Israel base, Israeli military says there’s no damage.
— Blinken urges Israel to engage with region on postwar plans that include path to Palestinian state.
— Former U.K. opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn will join South Africa’s delegation accusing Israel of genocide.
— U.S. defense secretary has prostate cancer and his secretive hospitalization was for treating a urinary tract infection.
— Israeli strike kills an elite Hezbollah commander in the latest escalation linked to the war in Gaza.
— Find more of AP's coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here's what's happening in the war:
UNITED STATES DEFENDS VETOING A RUSSIAN AMENDMENT TO U.N. CEASE-FIRE PLAN
UNITED NATIONS — The United States defended its veto last month of a Russian-proposed amendment to a Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood said the Russian proposal on Dec. 22 had been “disconnected from the situation on the ground.”
At a U.N. General Assembly meeting on Tuesday, the Palestinian and Arab delegations were joined by many other countries demanding an immediate halt to the Israel-Hamas war — calls that were echoed by a group of anti-war rabbis in the gallery.
Wood repeated that Washington is working to secure a “pause” in the Israel-Hamas war and the release of 136 Israeli hostages in Gaza. He said it was “striking” that those urging an end to the conflict have made very few demands of Hamas, whose Oct. 7 attack on Israel sparked the war.
The U.N. adopted a resolution in 2022 requiring any Security Council member who vetoes a resolution to explain why to the General Assembly.
The U.S. only got support from Israel. A cease-fire would be “a victory for Hamas … to continue the reign of terror in Gaza,” said Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan. He said Israel supports delivering aid to Gaza but accused Hamas of “looting” humanitarian assistance before it gets to civilians. He also accused the U.N. of doing “nothing” to bring the hostages home.
Some 36 rabbis from the group Rabbis 4 Ceasefire, who oppose Israel’s ongoing military action, came to the U.N. as tourists. The majority of them briefly held signs in the empty Security Council chamber saying “Biden Stop Vetoing Peace.” A small group did the same in the gallery of the General Assembly chamber before being hustled out by U.N. security officers.