UN chief calls blocked aid for Gaza a 'moral outrage' on Rafah visit
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Egypt's border with Gaza on Saturday to renew pleas for a ceasefire that could bring relief to a territory devastated by more than five months of war between Israel and Hamas. Health officials in the Hamas-run enclave said Israeli fire killed 19 people as they were waiting at an aid distribution point, a charge Israel denied. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
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Summary:
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the Egypt-Gaza border city of Rafah and declared it was time to "truly flood Gaza with lifesaving aid", calling the starvation inside the enclave a "moral outrage".
- Health officials in Hamas-ruled Gaza reported 19 deaths at an aid distribution point on the outskirts of Gaza City, blaming Israeli "tank fire and shells". The Israeli army denied it had fired on the crowd.
- Israeli forces pressed on with a multi-day raid on Al-Shifa hospital, the only partially working medical facility in northern Gaza, vowing to continue the operation until "the last terrorist is in our hands".
- At least 32,142 Palestinians have been killed and 74,412 wounded since Israel started its offensive on Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. Around 1,140 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks and 250 people taken hostage, according to Israeli figures, with 132 still missing.
Yesterday's key developments:
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Russia and China on Friday vetoed a US-backed draft UN Security Council resolution that tied an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to the release of hostages held by Hamas.
- Following the veto, President Emmanuel Macron said France will work on a new UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian access to Gaza.
- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he told visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel plans to launch a Rafah ground offensive with or without US support.
- Israel said it expected to continue attacks on Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City for a few more days. The facility is the only partially working medical facility in northern Gaza.
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”.
The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
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