U.S. official provides background on the Biden administration’s view of the U.N. vote
The Biden administration believes that as long as Hamas clings onto its bellicose ideology, any ceasefire would be temporary at best and dangerous at worst, both to Israelis and Palestinians, a U.S. official told NBC News, providing rationale behind its U.N. vote against a ceasefire in Gaza.
The draft also had multiple omissions and failed to condemn Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 that killed over 1,200 people and alleged sexual violence, the official said, adding that the U.S. had also offered an amendment that rejects and condemns the atrocities.
While acknowledging that it matters how Israel defends itself, the official said the U.S. emphasized Israel’s right to do so, a statement absent from the draft resolution.
Seven Palestinians killed in West Bank, Palestinian ministry says
Israeli forces continued to operate in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, killing at least seven Palestinians since yesterday, the Palestinian Information Ministry said on Telegram today.
The IDF also arrested 12 Palestinians and imposed a complete siege on the neighborhood, it said, adding it bombed several homes and destroyed infrastructure.
Schools were instructed to transition to distance learning in towns invaded by IDF, the ministry said. Israeli military also launched “a campaign of house raids and arrests of citizens” this morning, it added.
NBC News has not verified the claims.
Aid into Gaza has largely stopped, U.N. says
Aid into Gaza has largely stopped, according to a statement released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs yesterday.
This, in large part, is due to the “intensity of hostilities and restrictions on movement along the main roads.”
Limited aid distributions, however, are still entering the Rafah in the southernmost portion of the Gaza Strip.
A Palestinian family home is destroyed during West Bank raid
Members of…
Read the full article here