Live blog: US Gaza veto 'green light' to Israel for 'more massacres'— Hamas

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

1801 GMT — Hamas has condemned a US decision to veto a UN Security Council push for a Gaza ceasefire, saying it amounted to giving Israel the "green light" to carry out "more massacres".

"This veto serves the agenda of the Israeli occupation, obstructs international efforts to stop the aggression, and increases the suffering of our people," Hamas said in a statement.

"The American position is a green light for the occupation to commit more massacres."

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1858 GMT — Funding cuts to UN agency for Palestinians would hurt aid in other countries too: Agency head

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees or UNRWA has warned that funding cuts will also threaten aid to Palestinians in other countries.

"The consequences of donors freezing funding will not only impact our ability to respond to the huge humanitarian need in Gaza," Philippe Lazzarini, the agency’s head, wrote on X.

"It wil also impact UNRWA activities in the occupied West Bank , Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, where we have hundreds of thousands of girls and boys in our schools and where the Agency provides primary healthcare for 2M Palestine refugees," he added.

1852 GMT — Egypt regrets UN failure to call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Egypt has regretted the repeated failure of the UN Security Council to issue a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The US vetoed the latest attempt at the Council to demand an immediate humanitarian cease-ire in Gaza where the official death toll rapidly nears 30,000.

1840 GMT — Hamas confirms receipt of medical supplies for Gaza hostages: Qatar

Palestinian group Hamas has confirmed receipt of a shipment of medicines under a deal brokered by Qatar and has begun delivering the supplies to hostages in Gaza, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson has said in a statement.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry said that Hamas has started delivering medication for the approximately 100 hostages held in Gaza, a month after the medications arrived in Gaza.

Foreign Ministry confirmed they had begun to deliver the medications to the hostages in exchange for medicines and humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza.

1804 GMT — US envoy to raise hostage deal, Rafah assurances on Mideast trip

A US envoy will seek to advance a hostage deal and press for assurances from Israel on a Rafah offensive in a trip this week, the White House has said.

Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, will hold talks Wednesday in Egypt and Thursday in Israel, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.

1801 GMT — Hamas calls UN suspension of aid in Gaza a 'death sentence'

As UN World Food Program suspends aid amid chaos in northern Gaza, Hamas has called the pause 'catastrophic' and a 'death sentence'.

UN's food agency suspended aid deliveries to northern Gaza despite widespread hunger, after a convoy of trucks faced gunfire and looting.

1758 GMT — Palestine demands international investigation into Israeli crimes against women, children

Palestine has called for an international investigation into Israeli "crimes" against women and children in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

"Evidence and testimonies documented by Palestinian and international institutions show that many women have been extrajudicially executed, abused, sexually assaulted and deprived of health care, food, and water," Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said in a statement.

On Monday, UN experts expressed alarm over "credible allegations" of egregious human rights violations that Palestinian women and girls continue to face.

1751 GMT — Israeli offensive would turn Rafah into a 'graveyard': MSF US

An Israeli ground offensive in Rafah would turn the southern Gaza city into a "graveyard" and heighten the looming risk of famine, leaders of global humanitarian groups have warned.

"The consequences of a full-scale assault on Rafah are truly unimaginable," Avril Benoit, executive director of Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) in the United States, told reporters.

"Carrying out a military offensive there would turn it into a graveyard," Benoit said at a press briefing by MSF, Refugees International, Oxfam, Amnesty International and other groups.

1712 GMT — Houthis shoot down US military drone: US officials

A US military Mq-9 drone was shot down near Yemen by Houthis, two US officials have said.

This is the second time such a shootdown has taken place in recent months during a near-daily tit-for-tat between the group and US forces.

Meanwhile, a Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said his group’s naval forces carried out drone attacks against "sensitive" sites in Eilat in southern Israel.

1705 GMT — Netanyahu’s conditions hinder Gaza deal with Hamas: sources

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conditions hinder efforts to reach a ceasefire deal with Hamas, Palestinian sources have said.

"Netanyahu refuses to halt the aggression on Gaza or withdraw from the enclave," one of the sources told Anadolu.

"The Israeli premier also rejects the return of the displaced to northern Gaza or any real hostage-prisoner exchange deal, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are disappointed with Netanyahu’s attempts to disrupt any deal," he added.

1656 GMT — Palestine slams 'reckless' US veto of UN's Gaza ceasefire call

The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations Riyad Mansour has called Washington's veto of a Security Council push for a ceasefire "absolutely reckless and dangerous".

"The message given today to Israel with this veto is that it can continue to get away with murder," Mansour said in an emotional statement to the Security Council.

1653 GMT — Yemen's Houthis target Israeli and US ships in Red Sea

Yemen's Houthis have said in a statement that the group targeted an Israeli cargo ship "MSC Silver" in the Gulf of Aden with a number of missiles.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea added the group used drones to target a number of US warships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea as well as sites in Eilat in southern Israel.

1638 GMT — Famine unfolding in Gaza amid Israeli war: media office

A massive famine is unfolding in Gaza amid a deadly Israeli offensive on the Palestinian enclave, the government media office has said.

"Famine is worsening day by day in Gaza, where nearly 2.4 million people live," the media office said in a statement.

It said more than 700,000 Palestinians are facing starvation in northern Gaza, where the Israeli army conducted a deadly ground offensive.

1546 GMT — Jordan calls for resuming funding for UN Palestinian refugee agency

Jordan has called on countries that suspended funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) to reverse their decision.

"No organization can do what UNRWA does in assisting more than two million Palestinians facing famine in Gaza," Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said during a joint press conference with his Slovenian counterpart Tanja Fajon in Ljubljana.

1536 GMT — US vetoes UNSC's resolution on Gaza ceasefire for third time

The United States has again vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, even as President Joe Biden faced mounting pressure to dial back support for Israel.

It is the third US veto since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza.

"Proceeding with a vote today was wishful and irresponsible... we cannot support a resolution that would put sensitive negotiations in jeopardy," said Washington's ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield while advocating an alternate resolution drafted by the US.

1521 GMT — Russian envoy discusses situation in Gaza with Palestinian, Israeli officials

Russia's special envoy for the Middle East and North Africa region has discussed the situation in Gaza with Palestinian and Israeli officials.


In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Mikhail Bogdanov spoke over the phone with representatives of the Fatah movement and the Hamas group and discussed issues related to the Israeli war on Gaza.


Expressing the meeting put an emphasis on the growing “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza, the statement said that a detailed exchange of views was also held on issues related to preparations for an inter-Palestinian meeting.


1423 GMT — UK's Labour calls for immediate Gaza ceasefire

Britain's opposition Labour Party has called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a change of policy that seeks to avoid another parliamentary rebellion over an issue that has caused deep internal divisions.

Lawmakers will vote on Wednesday on an opposition Scottish National Party motion calling for an immediate ceasefire. That threatened to reprise a row in Labour after nearly a third of its lawmakers defied the leadership last year to back calls for a ceasefire.

1410 GMT — Israeli forces bomb hospital in Gaza’s Khan Younis

Israeli forces shelled the third floor of al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis city in southern Gaza, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society has said.

The aid organisation said two rooms were burnt in the Israeli attack, while the facility’s water pipelines were targeted.

There was no comment yet from the Israeli army on the report.

1408 GMT — Palestinian minister says 'humanitarian catastrophe' unfolding in Gaza

Palestinian Social Development Minister Ahmed Mecdelani has called the situation unfolding in Gaza a "humanitarian catastrophe," calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Speaking to Anadolu, Mecdelani detailed the extent of the devastation, with over 1.8M Palestinians displaced and more than 300,000 homes destroyed.

Those dead, wounded and missing exceed 110,000, 70 percent of whom are women and children, he said.

1322 GMT — UN food agency suspends aid to north Gaza after gunfire, looting

The UN's food agency has said it has suspended aid deliveries to northern Gaza despite widespread hunger, after a convoy of trucks faced gunfire and looting.

The World Food Programme (WFP) resumed deliveries on Sunday after a three-week halt but its convoy "faced complete chaos and violence due to the collapse of civil order", it said.

Twenty weeks into Israel's war in Gaza, UN agencies have warned that food and safe water are very scarce and WFP said its teams had reported "unprecedented levels of desperation".

1245 GMT — Gaza health crisis could kill 8,000 more by August even if fighting stops: report

Even if the fighting in Gaza stopped now, about 8,000 more people could still die there over the next six months due to the public health crisis caused by Israel's war on Gaza, according to a report by independent researchers in the US and Britain.

In a worst-case scenario, where the fighting escalates and there are significant disease outbreaks, roughly 85,570 people may die by early August, with 68,650 deaths related to traumatic injuries, the report said.

The figures come from a report by academics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health in the United States.

1242 GMT — US envoy to visit Egypt, Israel for hostage talks

US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk will travel to the region this week for continued talks on securing the release of hostages held in Gaza, a senior Biden administration official has said.

McGurk, who participated in earlier negotiations, will visit Egypt on Wednesday and Israel on Thursday, the official said.

The meetings are the latest in ongoing talks between the United States, Egypt, Israel and Qatar that seek to broker a pause in the war and the release of more than 100 hostages.

1240 GMT — Palestinian leader rejects Israeli restrictions on Al-Aqsa Mosque

Prominent Palestinian leader Sheikh Raed Salah has rejected Israeli restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshippers into the flashpoint Al Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

"Our bond with Al Aqsa Mosque is sacred," Salah, said in a recorded message.

"We have the eternal and legitimate right to enter Al Aqsa Mosque," he said. "No one on earth has the right to decide who can enter the site."

1233 GMT — WHO transfers critical patients out of besieged Gaza hospital

The World Health Organization has said it had transferred 32 patients out of the besieged Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza but feared for the patients and medics still inside.

WHO staff said conditions around the hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis were "indescribable".

Israeli troops entered the Nasser hospital on Thursday, following days of fighting around the complex.

After being denied access on Friday and Saturday, the WHO said it led two life-saving missions to transfer 32 critical patients, including two children, from Nasser Medical Complex.

1219 GMT — Talks over Gaza ceasefire, hostage swap ongoing: Qatar

Qatar has said that negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage swap between Hamas and Israel are ongoing.

"Qatar continues its role and efforts and communications are still ongoing between all parties," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari told reporters.

He said the humanitarian conditions are taking a central stage in the ongoing talks for a hostage-prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel.

1211 GMT — Saudi Arabia demands end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands

Saudi Arabia has called for ending the decades-long Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, deeming it "illegal."

"Israel’s actions indicate that it has no intention of making peace," Saudi Ambassador Ziad Al Atiyah told a hearing at The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ).

He said Israel has made it impossible to establish a Palestinian state by annexing more than two billion square metres of land and building more than 279 illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

1119 GMT — Israeli settlers' groups stepping up attacks to ignite conflict: Palestine

Illegal Israeli settlers' groups in the occupied West Bank are intensifying their attacks against Palestinians to ignite a broader conflict, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry has said.

"Settler attacks under the protection of the (Israeli) occupation are an official policy to undermine the opportunity for a two-state solution," said a ministry statement on attacks on the village of Burqa, northwest of the city of Nablus.

The Israeli settlers' attacks are more proof that the sanctions imposed on some settlers are insufficient and should include the heads of other extremist settler groups, it said.

1050 GMT — Hamas chief arrives in Cairo for talks on Israel's war on Gaza

Hamas said its chief, Ismail Haniya, arrived in Cairo to hold talks on the ongoing Israeli onslaught on Gaza.

In a statement, the Palestinian resistance group said Haniya and his delegation are scheduled to hold talks with Egyptian officials on the political and on-field situation in Gaza.

The talks will also follow efforts to stop the Israeli aggression in Gaza, it added.

Haniya's visit to Cairo comes as Qatari and Egyptian efforts continue with the aim of reaching a prisoner swap deal and a ceasefire in Gaza.

Hamas has repeatedly stated its pre-conditions for a prisoner swap deal are a complete ceasefire, Israeli army withdrawal from the besieged Gaza and rebuilding Gaza.

1119 GMT — Israeli settlers' groups stepping up attacks to ignite conflict: Palestine

Illegal Israeli settlers' groups in the occupied West Bank are intensifying their attacks against Palestinians to ignite a broader conflict, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said.

"Settler attacks under the protection of the (Israeli) occupation are an official policy to undermine the opportunity for a two-state solution," said a ministry statement late Monday on attacks on the village of Burqa, northwest of the city of Nablus.

"What the world saw yesterday of the settlers' attacks on Burqa and on other areas across the West Bank is clear evidence that these attacks are an Israeli official policy that falls under the crimes of gradually annexing the West Bank (to Israeli sovereignty)," the statement added.

The Israeli settlers' attacks are more proof that the sanctions imposed on some settlers are insufficient and should include the heads of other extremist settler groups, it said.

1040 GMT — Israel to bar some Muslim citizens from East Jerusalem mosque in Ramadan

Israel will cap the number of Muslim citizens who take part in peak prayers at East Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque during the upcoming Ramadan holy month, the police minister said.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said his bid to bar most Muslim citizens from Friday prayers during Ramadan was overruled by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Still, he said a cap of 40,000 to 50,000 would be imposed, having successfully argued against officials who wanted 120,00 to 150,000 admitted.

The measure drew condemnation from Arab leaders, including opposition lawmaker Ahmad Tibi, who said the far-right Ben-Gvir is an "arsonist, but who has above him someone who is responsible and is handing him a jerrycan of petrol."

1033 GMT — Death toll in Gaza from Israeli attacks climbs to 29,195

The death toll from Israel's war on Gaza has jumped to 29,195 since October 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The Health Ministry made the statement as the Israeli onslaught enters its 137th day.

Another 69,170 people have been injured so far.

In the past 24 hours, the Israeli army atrocities across Gaza left 103 people dead and 142 others injured. "Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads, and rescuers can’t reach them," it added.

1000 GMT — Israel detains 20 more Palestinians in occupied West Bank

The Israeli army detained 20 more Palestinians from areas across the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.

According to a joint statement by the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoner Society, the new arrests brought the total number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli forces since October 7 to nearly 7,120.

The arrests mainly concentrated in the cities of Hebron, Bethlehem, Nablus, Ramallah, Jericho and East Jerusalem.

During the Israeli arrest campaigns, the Israeli forces beat and abused Palestinians and damaged their homes and properties, the statement also said.

0654 GMT — Israel's actions in Gaza 'textbook case of genocide': Canadian activist

Israel's assault on Gaza is "a textbook case of genocide," according to a Canadian activist.

Karen Devito evaluated Israel's attacks in the besieged enclave in an interview with Anadolu.

"As a scholar of genocide, I have to say that many people use this word in a way that is not right. However, this is a textbook case. If you look at the definition, genocide has a legal definition. It's not a dictionary definition. It has many conditions. And most of them are being carried out by Israel. So I feel confident to say it's a textbook case of genocide."

0603 GMT — Israel hits Gaza with new air strikes ahead of UN truce vote

Israel has hit Gaza with new air strikes as world powers grappled with how to broker a ceasefire ahead of a UN Security Council vote.

The United Nations sounded the alarm over the humanitarian situation in the besieged territory, warning that food shortages could lead to an "explosion" of preventable child deaths.

Four months of Israel's relentless war has flattened much of the Palestinian territory, pushed 2.2 million people to the brink of famine and displaced three-quarters of the population, according to UN estimates.

"How many of us have to die... to stop these crimes?" Ahmad Moghrabi, said a Palestinian doctor in southern Gaza's main city, Khan Younis.

"Where is the humanity?"

Global powers trying to navigate a way out of the spiralling crisis have so far come up short, with a push later today for a UN ceasefire resolution facing an expected US veto.

2331 GMT — Arab Group calls for 'immediate' UNSC action on besieged Gaza

The Arab Group in New York has urged the UN Security Council to take immediate action on besieged Gaza.

"Regrettably, the UN Security Council remains inert, unable to denounce the daily atrocities perpetrated by the occupying authorities. The Security Council must take immediate action," the group, a coalition of Arab states that promote common interests at the United Nations, said in a statement.

"It cannot turn a deaf ear to the pleas of the international community and global public opinion, all of whom demand a ceasefire. No excuse can rationalise the Security Council's inertia, and all endeavours must converge to halt the ongoing carnage in Gaza," it added.

2317 GMT — Hamas says no swap deal with Israel without full ceasefire

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas stressed that it would only accept a swap deal with Israel if it agreed to a full ceasefire and the entry of relief aid into besieged Gaza.

"The return of (Israeli) occupation prisoners has three prices. The first is the relief of our people and their return to a normal life. The second is ending the aggression, and the third is a real prisoner swap deal that frees our 10,000 prisoners in Israeli jails," Khalil al Hayya, a member of the group's political bureau, said in an interview with Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV.

He said Israel refuses to withdraw from the blockaded Palestinian enclave and rejects allowing displaced Palestinians to return to their homes.

2248 GMT — Children's lives threatened by rising malnutrition in Gaza: UN

A rise in malnutrition among children and pregnant and breastfeeding women in besieged Gaza poses grave threats to their health, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said.

"As the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip enters its 20th week, food and safe water have become incredibly scarce, and diseases are rife, compromising women and children's nutrition and immunity and resulting in a surge of acute malnutrition," it said in a statement.

The situation is "especially serious" in the north, where one in six children under the age of two is acutely malnourished, it added. Similar screenings in southern Gaza in Rafah, where aid has been more available, found five percent of children under two years old are acutely malnourished, it said.

For our live updates from Monday, February 19, click here.