All the latest developments from the Israel Hamas war.
More than 29,000 Palestinians killed in war
Israel’s war in Gaza has become one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history.
The enclave’s health ministry on Monday said more than 29,000 Palestinians had been killed since 7 October in the Israeli assault.
Despite the mounting casualties – and growing international pressure – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive until “total victory”.
There are fears the Palestinian death toll will continue to rise.
Last week Netanyahu announced Israel’s military would soon invade the southernmost city of Rafah on the Egyptian border, where over half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have sought refuge from fighting elsewhere.
Around two-thirds of the Palestinian dead are women and children, with more than 69,000 people in Gaza now wounded.
Gaza’s hospitals have been overwhelmed and are only partially functioning, amid Israeli strikes and supply shortages.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israel on 7 October, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. They took around 250 men, women and children hostage.
Arabs put doomed UN ceasefire resolution to vote
Arab nations are putting an UN resolution to vote that demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, knowing it will be vetoed by the United States.
Washington will block the resolution because it could scupper US efforts to strike a deal that would bring a six-week pause to fighting and release all hostages taked by Hamas.
Arab nations, supported by many of the 193 U.N. member countries, have been demanding a ceasefire for months as Israel’s military offensive has intensified.
Tunisia’s UN Ambassador Tarek Ladeb, this month’s chair of the 22-nation Arab Group, told reporters last Wednesday that a ceasefire is urgently needed.
He pointed to the some 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah who face “catastrophic scenario” if Netanyahu goes ahead with his announced plan to invade the Egyptian border city.
Concerns are rising that Israel may be attempting to expell the Palestinians in Egypt – something Israel denies.
Israel claims it needs to invade Rafah as Hamas fighters are allegedly hiding there.
Besides an ceasefire, the Arab-backed draft resolution demands the immediate release of all hostages, rejects the forced displacement of Palestinian civilians, calls for unhindered humanitarian access throughout Gaza, and reiterates council demands that Israel and Hamas “scrupulously comply” with international law, especially the protection of civilians.