War in the Gaza Strip

UN Security Council urges protection of civilians

(Bild: AP)

In the Gaza war between Israel and the militant Palestinian organization Hamas, the UN Security Council has called for immediate humanitarian aid to protect Palestinian civilians in need in the sealed-off coastal strip.

According to Hamas, there are still obstacles in the indirect negotiations on a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of further hostages. It blamed the Israeli side for this.

UN again calls for humanitarian aid
"The parties have been urged not to withhold basic services and humanitarian assistance from civilians in the Gaza Strip," according to a United Nations statement published in New York on Saturday (local time). Humanitarian aid was once again called for.

In their statement, the Council members expressed their "grave concern" that the more than two million inhabitants of Gaza could be exposed to "alarming levels of acute food insecurity". The Security Council reiterated its call to "enable and facilitate the immediate, rapid, safe, sustained and unhindered delivery" of humanitarian aid on a large scale. Israel was also called upon in the declaration to keep the border crossings open for humanitarian aid and to allow the opening of additional crossings.

The Council member states also expressed concern about the reports on the recent disaster surrounding an aid convoy in the north of the Gaza Strip, during the arrival of which, according to Hamas, more than 100 people were killed and more than 700 injured. 

The UN Security Council avoided direct apportionment of blame. The statement merely said that Israeli forces had been involved when a large crowd of people surrounded a humanitarian aid convoy southwest of the city of Gaza. An Israeli investigation into the incident on Thursday is underway.

Thestruggle for a ceasefire continues
The main obstacle in the indirect negotiations with Israel is the time limit for a ceasefire. A Hamas representative in Beirut, who did not wish to be named, told the German press agency dpa on Sunday night. Israel is maneuvering around the issue, he said. 

However, senior representatives of the US government, which is mediating between Israel and Hamas together with Qatar and Egypt, said on Saturday that the framework for a possible agreement was in place and that the Israelis had "more or less accepted" it. A possible agreement now depends solely on Hamas.

A high-ranking US representative had previously stated that the framework for a six-week ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was in place. He in turn stated that Israel's agreement was there, but that the deal depended on whether the radical Islamic Hamas agreed to release the hostages. "The deal is basically already there. But I don't want to raise expectations one way or the other." Hamas has not issued a statement. 

Mediation talks on ceasefire
Israel announced that it would cease military activities for humanitarian purposes. According to the Egyptian television station Al Qahera News TV, mediation talks on a ceasefire are to continue in Cairo on Sunday. A Hamas representative said that they were in contact with the mediators and were continuing their efforts to find a solution "to end the aggression against our people". 

Hamas terrorists and other extremist groups killed hundreds of people and abducted around 250 hostages in the Gaza Strip during the attack on southern Israel on October 7. According to Israeli estimates, there are probably around 100 living hostages still held by Hamas.