The U.N. Security Council has scheduled a vote Monday on an Arab-sponsored resolution calling for an urgent cessation of hostilities in Gaza and the release of all Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants. The U.S. has previously vetoed calls for a cease-fire at the U.N. and rushed munitions to Israel. The 10-week-old war has transformed much of the north of Gaza into a moonscape. Nearly 85% of Gaza’s population have fled their homes. U.S. and Israeli intelligence chiefs were holding talks with Qatar’s prime minister in Poland to broker freedom for more hostages, the first known meeting of the three since the end of a weeklong cease-fire in late November. More than 19,400 Palestinians have been killed since Israel declared war on Hamas, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Thousands more lie buried under the rubble of Gaza, the U.N. estimates. Israel says 127 of its soldiers have died in its ground offensive after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and taking about 240 hostages.
Here’s what’s happening in the war:
Quick Read
- U.N. Security Council Resolution Vote: A vote is scheduled on a resolution for immediate cessation of hostilities in Gaza and the release of all Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants.
- U.S. Stance on Cease-Fire: The U.S. previously vetoed U.N. calls for a cease-fire and has provided munitions to Israel.
- Devastation in Gaza: The ongoing war has transformed northern Gaza, forcing nearly 85% of its population to flee.
- Hostage Negotiation Talks: U.S. and Israeli intelligence chiefs are in talks with Qatar’s prime minister to negotiate the release of more hostages.
- Casualty Figures: Over 19,400 Palestinians killed since the war’s onset, with Israel reporting 127 soldier casualties.
- U.N. Draft Resolution Details: The resolution calls for an urgent cessation of hostilities and unobstructed humanitarian aid delivery, demanding the release of all hostages.
- U.S. Defense Secretary’s Remarks: Lloyd Austin states the U.S. has not set a timeline for Israel to end its Gaza offensive.
- Israel’s Stance on Hezbollah: Israel warns of action against Hezbollah if border tranquility is not restored.
- Spy Chiefs Meeting: CIA Director William Burns meets with Israeli and Qatari officials to discuss hostage release.
- Hamas’ Armed Activities: A Hamas video shows an attack on Israeli troops in Gaza.
- Israeli Military Actions: Photos released of Israeli troops destroying a war statue in Gaza and detaining alleged militants.
- White House’s Cease-Fire Hopes: The Biden administration is hopeful about a potential cease-fire deal and additional humanitarian aid.
- International Meeting on Houthi Shipping Attacks: A U.S.-led meeting is planned to address Houthi rebel attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
- Red Sea Shipping Attack: A commercial ship attacked in the Red Sea, with Houthi rebels being potential perpetrators.
The Associated Press has the story:
UN seeks Gaza cease-fire vote as the US, Israel and Qatar hold talks
Newslooks- UNITED NATIONS (AP)
The U.N. Security Council has scheduled a vote Monday on an Arab-sponsored resolution calling for an urgent cessation of hostilities in Gaza to allow unhindered access to deliver humanitarian aid to the massive number of civilians in need.
The draft resolution also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
The vote is scheduled for 5 p.m. in New York, but diplomats said the text is still being negotiated to try to get the United States, Israel’s closest ally, to abstain rather than veto the resolution. The U.S. vetoed a Security Council resolution on Dec. 8 backed by almost all of the 15 council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.
The draft would reiterate the council’s demand that all parties comply with international humanitarian law, especially protecting civilians and the infrastructure critical for their survival including hospitals, schools, places of worship and U.N. facilities.
The draft, obtained by The Associated Press, would demand that the parties to the conflict — Gaza’s Hamas rulers and Israel, who are not named — fulfill their obligations under international humanitarian law and enable “the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip.”
The only mention of Israel and the Palestinians is the draft’s “unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution,” and its stress at “the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.”
US SAYS NO TIMELINE FOR ISRAEL TO END WAR IN GAZA
TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the U.S. has not set a timeline for Israel to end the current, intensive phase of its Gaza offensive.
Speaking at a news conference in Tel Aviv on Monday, Austin said he had discussed goals and objectives of Israel’s war and ways to reduce harm to civilians during talks with his Israeli counterparts.
Austin and other U.S. officials have repeatedly expressed concern about the large number of civilian deaths in Gaza. But he said the U.S. had not laid down explicit demands.
“This is Israel’s operation,” he said. “I’m not here to dictate timelines or terms.”
ISRAEL WARNS OF ACTION AGAINST HEZBOLLAH OVER CROSS-BORDER FIGHTING
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s defense minister says that Israel “will not hesitate to act” against Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group if quiet is not restored along the volatile border between Israel and Lebanon.
Since Israel’s war erupted against Hamas militants in Gaza on Oct. 7, Iran-backed Hezbollah has carried out a series of rocket and missile strikes on northern Israel, drawing Israeli strikes in response. Tens of thousands of Israelis have been forced to evacuate border communities. The ongoing fighting has raised fears of a broader regionwide conflict.
Speaking at a news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Yoav Gallant said Monday that Israel expects Hezbollah to respect a 2006 cease-fire that required the Lebanese militant group to stay away from the border.
“If such a process will not be implemented diplomatically, we will not hesitate to act,” Gallant said.
US AND ISRAELI SPY CHIEFS MEET WITH QATARI PRIME MINISTER
WASHINGTON — CIA Director William Burns was in Warsaw Monday for talks with the director of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and Qatar’s prime minister in a renewed push to win the release of more of the hostages held by Hamas and other militant groups, a U.S. official said.
It was the first known meeting among the three since talks broke off shortly after Israel ended a dayslong cease-fire with Hamas at the start of the month.
The U.S. official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive discussions.
In all, 129 hostages are known to remain captive in the Gaza Strip, after a negotiated deal won the release of some others in exchange for an Israeli cease-fire last month. Burns was meeting with Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammad al-Thani.
HAMAS VIDEO SHOWS APPARENT ATTACK ON ISRAELI TROOPS IN GAZA
JERUSALEM — A video released by Hamas’ armed wing Monday appears to show the militants firing an anti-tank missile at an Israeli army convoy in Gaza, hitting a truck and setting it alight.
The video then appears to show Israeli troops trying to remove one or more injured comrades as the truck burns next to them. One soldier is seen crawling next to the vehicle.
Israel’s military has admitted the death of 127 soldiers so far in their ground offensive in Gaza. It says it has killed thousands of militants, without providing evidence.
Hamas militants are armed for the most part with light weapons like AK-47 assault rifles, but they also have heavier weapons like rocket-propelled grenades made in the former Soviet bloc and anti-tank missiles built in Iran and China.
Smuggled into Gaza either by boat or in underground tunnels from Egypt, RPGs and anti-tank missiles can penetrate certain types of armor and can pose a threat to Israeli army vehicles.
Hamas also appears to have developed the capability to manufacture some of these weapons locally, experts say.
ISRAELI TROOPS DESTROY WAR STATUE IN GAZA AND RELEASE PHOTO OF 20 ALLEGED MILITANTS CAPTURED
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military has released photos of soldiers destroying a well-known statue glorifying the deaths of Israeli soldiers and a separate image showing what it says are 20 militants detained in an arrest raid.
The army said it destroyed the statue in the Shijaiyah neighborhood, which depicted a fist coming out of an armored personnel carrier and three military dog tags.
One of the dog tags had the name of Oron Shaul, an Israeli soldier who was killed during fighting in the Gaza City neighborhood in 2014. His remains have been held by Hamas since then.
The Israeli military also shared footage of what it said were Gaza militants detained during an operation inside a school on Friday.
Around 20 detainees are shown in the photo, kneeling and wearing white jumpsuits. Nine have red circles around their heads and are identified as Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants.
The Israeli military said some of the detainees, who were taken for interrogations by Israeli intelligence, participated in the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war with Hamas. The cross-border attack killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped 240 others.
WHITE HOUSE EXPRESSES HOPE IN POSSIBLE CEASE-FIRE DEAL
WASHINGTON — Biden administration officials are hoping that revived talks underway in the Israel-Gaza war will yield another round of hostage releases in exchange for a temporary cease-fire and humanitarian aid, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Monday.
Kirby spoke after the U.S. confirmed that discussions among U.S. and Israeli intelligence chiefs and Qatar’s prime minister on the hostages had resumed in recent days, although it was not clear if the Hamas militant group had agreed to join in what would be indirect talks.
“We continue to work really hard to try to get another deal in place, which would of course be accompanied by another humanitarian pause and … hopefully some additional humanitarian assistance,” Kirby told reporters in Washington. “But … I can’t say that we are at a point where another deal is imminent.”
CIA Director William Burns was in Warsaw on Monday talking with Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammad al-Thani. It was the first known meeting among the three since talks broke off shortly after Israel ended a dayslong cease-fire at the start of the month, ending that period of negotiated hostage releases by Hamas.
Since then, Hamas officials have said they would refuse anything less than a permanent end to Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and the release of all Palestinians detained by Israel in exchange for any release of hostages. Hamas and other militant groups are believed to still hold 129 foreign captives.
US TO HOLD INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON HOUTHI SHIPPING ATTACKS
TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says he is convening a meeting of his counterparts in the Middle East and beyond to respond to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on international shipping in the Red Sea.
Austin told a Tel Aviv news conference Monday that the virtual meeting would take place the following morning.
The Iran-backed Houthis have targeted Israel-linked vessels during Israel’s war in Gaza but have escalated their attacks in recent days, hitting or just missing ships without clear ties to Israel.
“These attacks are reckless, dangerous and they violate international law,” Austin said. “We’re taking action to build an international coalition to address this threat.”
He said the attacks are not just a U.S. concern, but threaten global commerce.
“That’s why it deserves an international response,” he said.
A COMMERCIAL SHIP IS ATTACKED IN THE RED SEA
A Cayman Islands-flagged tanker has been attacked in a crucial shipping route off Yemen, a U.S. military official said Monday.
The attack that targeted the Swan Atlantic, a chemical and oil products carrier, is the latest in a series of assaults on vessels in the Red Sea and its strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The attacks have been claimed by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who say they are targeting vessels linked to Israel in support of Palestinian militants.
The U.S. official said the vessel was attacked by multiple projectiles at about 9 a.m. local time.
The USS Carney, a U.S. warship which provides security to ships in the area, responded to the incident, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the attack.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which monitors Mideast shipping lanes, also reported an incident in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, off Yemen’s port of Mocha, and warned vessels in the area to exercise caution.
It reported “a possible explosion in the water” about 2 nautical miles from the vessel.
The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the assault.
Currently:
— U.S. defense secretary, Israeli leaders discuss more targeted approach in Gaza.
— In Israel’s killing of three hostages, some see the same excessive force directed at Palestinians.
— Israel finds a large tunnel adjacent to the Gaza border, raising questions about prewar intelligence.
— European nations step up calls for a Gaza cease-fire.
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
