Live blog: UN General Assembly to vote on Gaza ceasefire demand — diplomats

Sunday, December 10, 2023

2114 GMT — The 193-member United Nations General Assembly is likely to vote Tuesday on a draft resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian resistance group Hamas in Gaza, diplomats said.

The move comes after the US vetoed on Friday a UN Security Council demand for immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

The General Assembly in October adopted a resolution - 121 votes in favour, 14 against and 44 abstentions - calling for "an immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities."

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2100 GMT –– Israel detains 142 Palestinian women, including infants, from Gaza

Israeli authorities are detaining 142 Palestinian women, including infants and elderly, from Gaza, local NGOs said.

A joint statement by the Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society said the women were arrested during the Israeli ground offensive in Gaza.

According to available information, the women detainees are held in several Israeli prisons, including Damon and Hasharon prisons, the statement added.

2045 GMT –– Al Quds Brigades says killing, injuring Israeli soldiers in Gaza City operation

The Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, announced that several members of an Israeli special force were killed and injured when a house in which they were positioned in eastern Gaza City was blown up.

In a statement, the brigades said: “We demolished a house in the Shuja'iyya neighbourhood containing more than 13 Zionist soldiers who were attempting to locate a tunnel.”

“One of our fighters managed to emerge from the tunnel, killing two Israeli soldiers before completely detonating the house, causing casualties among the force,” the statement added.

2021 GMT –– Lebanon announces nationwide strike in solidarity with Gaza

Lebanon announced the closure of all government offices and institutions nationwide on Monday in solidarity with Gaza and the southern Lebanese villages affected by Israeli attacks.

In an official statement, secretary-general of Lebanon's Council of Ministers, Mahmoud Mekkiya, announced that Prime Minister Najib Mikati made the decision in response to a global call for a strike "in solidarity with Gaza and the Palestinian people, including our fellow citizens in Gaza and the border villages of Lebanon."

The Beirut Engineers' Syndicate also confirmed the closure of its main headquarters in the Lebanese capital Beirut, along with its branch offices across various regions on Monday.

1829 GMT –– Israel's Netanyahu calls on Hamas fighters to 'surrender now'

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on Hamas fighters to "surrender now," saying the Palestinian group's end was near.

"The war is still ongoing but it is the beginning of the end of Hamas. I say to the Hamas terrorists: It's over. Don't die for (Yahya) Sinwar. Surrender now," Netanyahu said in a statement, referring to the chief of Hamas in Gaza.

1748 GMT –– WHO adopts resolution urging immediate aid for Gaza

The World Health Organization's executive board has adopted a resolution calling for immediate, unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza after the WHO chief said medics were facing unimaginable conditions.

The 34 countries on the board adopted the resolution by consensus, even though some, notably the United States, had reservations about the dearth of references to the Hamas attacks of October 7.

In addition to calling for immediate humanitarian relief, the resolution demanded the granting of exit permits for patients.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the board had managed to achieve "the first consensus resolution on the conflict... since it began two months ago."

1613 GMT –– Hezbollah is responding to escalating Israeli attacks, senior official says

A senior politician in the Lebanese group Hezbollah has said that Israeli air strikes in south Lebanon marked a "new escalation" to which the group was responding with new types of attacks.

Hassan Fadlallah, in a statement, said the escalation would "not deter the resistance in Lebanon from continuing to defend its country and supporting Gaza".

Hezbollah was responding to the escalation with new types of attacks, be it "in the nature of the weapons (used) or the targeted sites", he added.

1555 GMT –– Israeli army must better protect civilians in Gaza: German FM

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has voiced deep concern over the worsening situation in Gaza, emphasizing that "the Israeli army must better protect civilians in Gaza."

"It's not sufficient to call on people to seek shelter when, in fact, almost no protection is possible on-site," she said on X.

Baerbock highlighted the urgency of the situation, stating: "The situation of the people in Gaza becomes more desperate by the day. Women and children are suffering the most. They are the last to eat and are the first to die."

1538 GMT –– Gaza death toll from Israeli attacks nears 18,000

The Health Ministry in Gaza has said the death toll from Israeli attacks in the Palestinian territory has risen to at least 17,997.

Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said there were an additional 49,229 wounded.

1520 GMT –– Hamas: Israel cannot recover its hostages without negotiations

Hamas' armed wing has said Israel will not be able to recover any of its hostages unless it engages in talks over conditional swap deals.

Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for the al Qassam Brigades, said in an audio speech broadcast by Al Jazeera television that Israel will not be able to recover the captives by force, citing what he described as a failed operation to free one of them.

He also claimed that Hamas fighters had partially or fully destroyed 180 Israeli personnel carriers, tanks and bulldozers in 10 days since fighting resumed in Gaza.

1421 GMT –– Blinken: Palestinian civilian safety imperative, envisions durable peace

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has said it is "imperative" that Israeli military operations in Gaza protect Palestinian civilians, adding that the fighting should be followed by a durable peace leading to a Palestinian state.

1412 GMT –– Israeli soldiers wounded in Hezbollah drone attack

Several Israeli soldiers have been wounded when Hezbollah launched a drone attack from Lebanon, both the Israeli army and the militant group have said.

The Israeli army said two of its soldiers were wounded and several others sustained minor injuries when its missile defences shot down a pair of "suspicious aerial targets that crossed from Lebanon" in the Western Galilee region.

"Two IDF soldiers were moderately injured, and a number of additional soldiers were lightly injured from shrapnel and smoke inhalation," it said, referring to the Israel Defense Forces and adding that the troops were taken to hospital.

1402 GMT –– Hamas denies Israeli reports about surrender of its fighters in Gaza

Palestinian group Hamas has denied Israeli claims about the surrender of its fighters in Jabalia in northern Gaza.

Israeli media published footage and photos of half-naked people with their eyes covered and hands tied before being taken for questioning. The media said the photos were of Hamas members, who surrendered to the Israeli army.

“Hamas heroes don’t surrender and the (Israeli) occupation lies will not deceive anyone,” group member Izzat al Rishq said in a statement.

He said people who appeared in the photos “were defenceless civilians after they were detained and weapons were placed next to them.”

The photos “are part of a ridiculous story, which the occupation has been fabricating for declaring an alleged victory over the resistance,” al Rishq said.

1401 GMT –– UN calls for ceasefire in Gaza to prevent massive displacement

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza to curb the escalating crisis of mass displacement.

“A humanitarian ceasefire is needed in Gaza also to prevent the ongoing massive displacement from growing more and beyond Gaza,” he said on X.

1341 GMT –– Netanyahu voices 'dissatisfaction' to Putin over UN vote

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has voiced Israel's "dissatisfaction" to President Vladimir Putin over Russia's vote in favour of a UN Security Council resolution calling for a Gaza ceasefire.

"The prime minister expressed his dissatisfaction with the positions expressed against Israel by Russian representatives at the UN and in other forums" when he spoke with Putin, Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

"Any country that had been struck with a criminal terrorist assault such as Israel experienced would have reacted with no less force than Israel is using," he told Putin.

1334 GMT –– Shrapnel, smoke bombs fall on field hospital in Khan Younis: Jordanian army

Shrapnel and smoke bombs fell on a field hospital in the city of Khan Younis, south of Gaza, as a result of continued Israeli bombing in the area, the Jordanian army has announced.

“Some facilities of the Jordanian Private Field Hospital/2 in southern Gaza were exposed to falling shrapnel and smoke bombs as a result of the continued Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip,” an unnamed military source in the General Command of the Jordanian Armed Forces said, according to the Jordan News Agency (Petra).

There were no human casualties or material damage, the source added.

1218 GMT –– Lebanon's Hezbollah fires drones, Israel mounts air strikes

Lebanon's Hezbollah has said it launched explosive drones at an Israeli command position and Israeli air strikes hit south Lebanon, as violence prompted by the war in Gaza rumbled on across the Israeli-Lebanese frontier.

The Israeli army said "suspicious aerial targets" had crossed from Lebanon and two were intercepted. Two Israeli soldiers were moderately wounded and several others were lightly injured from shrapnel and smoke inhalation, it said.

Israeli fighter jets carried out "an extensive series of strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanese territory", it said.

1217 GMT –– Israeli army dismisses outcry over stripped Gaza men footage

Israel's army has dismissed outcry over footage showing scores of stripped Palestinians in Gaza, saying it was part of routine searches, while Hamas insisted the men were "unarmed civilians".

Footage of the men stripped down to their underwear, with some of them appearing to hand over weapons, was aired by Israeli media on Thursday, reporting the alleged surrender of Hamas fighters.

1214 GMT –– Russia: Hamas attacks do not justify Israel's punishment of Palestinians

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said it was not acceptable for Israel to use Hamas' attack on October 7 as justification for the collective punishment of the Palestinian people and called for international monitoring on the ground in Gaza.

Israeli tanks battled their way to the centre of Khan Younis in a major new push into the heart of the main city in southern Gaza.

President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly blamed the war between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on the failure of years of US diplomacy in the Middle East while aiming to position Russia as an important player with ties to all the major actors in the region.

1205 GMT –– Israeli army fires on a UN-escorted Palestinian ambulance convoy

The Israeli army has opened fire on six ambulances of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, escorted by UN vehicles, carrying 11 patients with critical injuries, including amputations and head wounds, in Gaza, the Red Crescent has said, adding that one of the injured died before receiving any treatment.

“The Palestine Red Crescent Society coordinated with the United Nations to evacuate 11 casualties in critical condition last night from Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City to the hospital in the south of the Strip,” the Red Crescent said in a statement on X.

A convoy of six Red Crescent ambulances, accompanied by UN vehicles, set off from Khan Younis after waiting about four hours for the first green light to move towards the military checkpoint that separates the north from south in the Gaza Strip, it added.

1155 GMT –– UN agency chief says Israel trying to force Palestinians into Egypt

The head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees has accused Israel of laying the groundwork for the mass expulsion of Palestinians into Egypt, an accusation Israel denied.

In an opinion piece published on Saturday in the Los Angeles Times, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini pointed to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the increasing concentration near the border of displaced civilians who fled the fighting, first in the north and then further south.

"The United Nations and several member states, including the US, have firmly rejected forcibly displacing Gazans out of the Gaza Strip," Lazzarini said.

"But the developments we are witnessing point to attempts to move Palestinians into Egypt, regardless of whether they stay there or are resettled elsewhere."

1154 GMT –– Hamas claims to have killed 10 Israeli soldiers in northern Gaza

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has claimed that it has killed 10 Israeli soldiers in northern Gaza.

The Qassam Brigades, the group's military wing, claimed that the Israeli soldiers were killed at "point-blank range" in the Falluja neighbourhood.

The group also said it used anti-armour shells to target an Israeli tank and two military vehicles in Jabalia, north of Gaza City.

1022 GMT –– Israeli warplanes destroy water supply lines of Khan Younis, Rafah cities in southern Gaza

Israeli warplanes have destroyed water supply lines in the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, as well as their connecting roads during the heavy bombing on southern Gaza.

Israeli fighters bombed the water supply pipes connecting the city of Khan Younis to Rafah in an attempt to cut off water supplies, eyewitnesses told Anadolu.

The army also launched intense air strikes on a main road connecting the two cities, completely destructing it, local sources said.

0945 GMT –– Pressure to end war inconsistent with support for eliminating Hamas: Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rebuffed international calls to end the Gaza war, describing them as inconsistent with supporting the war-aim of eliminating Hamas.

Briefing his cabinet, Netanyahu said he had told the leaders of France, Germany and other countries: "You cannot on the one hand support the elimination of Hamas and on other pressure us to end the war, which would prevent the elimination of Hamas."

0939 GMT –– Health situation in Gaza is 'catastrophic': WHO chief

The impact of the Israeli war on Gaza's healthcare sector has been "catastrophic," the World Health Organization chief said at an emergency board meeting, saying conditions were ideal for the spread of deadly diseases.

"It's stating the obvious to say that the impact of the conflict on health is catastrophic," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the 34-member board.

"In summary, health needs have increased dramatically and the capacity of the health system has been reduced to one-third of what it was," he said.

0815 GMT –– Efforts to renew Israel-Hamas truce 'continuing': Qatar

Mediation efforts to secure a new Gaza ceasefire and release more hostages held by Hamas are continuing despite continued Israeli bombardment which is "narrowing the window" for a successful outcome, Qatar's prime minister said.

"Our efforts as the state of Qatar along with our partners are continuing. We are not going to give up," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Doha Forum.

He adding that "the continuation of the bombardment is just narrowing this window for us."

0754 GMT –– Guterres says UN Security Council 'paralysed' over Gaza

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he regrets the Security Council's failure to demand a ceasefire in Gaza, condemning the divisions that have "paralysed" the world body.

Addressing Qatar's Doha Forum, Guterres said the council was "paralysed by geostrategic divisions" that were undermining solutions to Israel's war on Gaza which started on October 7. The body's "authority and credibility were severely undermined" by its delayed response to the conflict, he said two days after a US veto prevented a resolution calling for a Gaza ceasefire.

"I reiterated my appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared," he told the forum. "Regrettably, the Security Council failed to do it. I can promise, I will not give up."

0727 GMT — Heavy fighting in south Gaza as Israel presses ahead

Heavy fighting raged overnight and into Sunday in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, as Israel pressed ahead with its offensive after the US blocked the latest international efforts to halt the fighting and rushed more munitions to its close ally.

Israel has faced rising international outrage and calls for a ceasefire after the killing of thousands of Palestinian civilians and the displacement of nearly 85 percent of Gaza's 2.3 million people within the besieged territory, where UN agencies say there is no safe place to flee.

But the United States has lent vital support to the offensive once again in recent days, by vetoing United Nations Security Council efforts to end the fighting that enjoyed wide international support, and by pushing through an emergency sale of over $100 million worth of tank ammunition to Israel.

0343 GMT — Top US university president quits after anti-Semitism uproar

The president of an Ivy League university stepped down in the wake of a firestorm of criticism after a congressional hearing on the rise of anti-Semitism on US campuses.

University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill "voluntarily tendered her resignation," the chair of the university's board of trustees Scott Bok announced. Bok also stepped down himself, a university spokesman said.

Magill was among three presidents of elite universities who faced withering criticism following their testimony Tuesday during a congressional hearing on campus anti-Semitism.

0332 GMT — French frigate downs drones over Red Sea: military

A French frigate shot down two drones in the Red Sea that were heading towards it from the coast of Yemen, the French military said.

"The interception and destruction of these two identified threats" were carried out late Saturday by the frigate Languedoc, which operates in the Red Sea, the general staff said in a press release. The interceptions happened at 2030 GMT and 2230 GMT, it added, and were 110 km (68 miles) from the Yemeni coast.

Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday threatened to attack any vessels heading to Israeli ports unless food and medicine were allowed into the besieged Gaza enclave.

0239 GMT — Israeli forces push into southern Gaza, aid groups sound 'alarm'

Israeli forces pushed into southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled in search of shelter from Israeli bombardments and intense fighting between Israel and Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Aid groups have sounded the alarm on the "apocalyptic" humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, warning it is on the brink of being overwhelmed by disease and starvation.

Hamas said that Israel had launched a series of "very violent raids" targeting the southern city of Khan Younis and the road from there to Rafah, near the border with Egypt. An AFP journalist also reported strikes in southern Gaza early Sunday.

0000 GMT — Hamas welcomes Houthi move to block ships to Israel

Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, has welcomed an announcement Sunday by the Yemeni Iran-allied Houthi group who said it would block ships headed to Israel through the Red Sea.

A statement by Hamas drew attention to the announcement that said: "If necessary supplies, including food and medicine, do not enter Gaza, the passage of ships to the Zionist entity (Israel) through the Red Sea will be blocked regardless of their nationality."

It deemed it a "bold decision" against attacks on Gaza for more than two months and urged Arab and Islamic countries to fulfill their historic responsibility to break the blockade on Gaza.

2300 GMT — Israel welcomes US veto on Gaza cease-fire resolution at UN

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the US veto of a UN resolution that sought an urgent ceasefire in Gaza

"I greatly appreciate the correct stance taken by the United States in the UN Security Council," the Israeli prime minister said in a televised speech. "Other countries should understand that it is impossible to both support the elimination of Hamas and call for an end to the war aimed at eliminating Hamas," he said.

"We will continue our just struggle to eliminate Hamas and achieve the set goals."

2200 GMT — 'Bring them home': Israelis call for hostages' release

Hundreds of Israelis gathered in what has come to be known as Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to call for the release of nearly 140 people still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

As speakers took to the stage, the crowd held placards bearing messages like "they trust us to get them out of hell", and "bring them home now".

Ruby Chen, the father of 19-year-old hostage Itai Chen, said from the podium: "We are asking the Israeli cabinet, the war cabinet, to explain what exactly is on the negotiating table."

Demonstrator Yoav Zalmanovitz said the government "did not care" about the hostages.

For our live updates from Saturday, December 9, click here.