The UN General Assembly voted on Friday, May 10, by a large majority to support the Palestinians’ request for membership in the organization. This resolution is, however, symbolic due to the American veto already issued on April 18 at the Security Council. The resolution, which believes that Palestinians should “be admitted to the Organization” and grants them some additional rights as observers, received 143 votes in favor, nine against (Argentina, Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea and the United States) and 25 abstentions. The Palestinians already have the status of “non-member observer state”, but the conflict in the Gaza Strip had relaunched the accession procedure. Follow our live stream.
An attack on Rafah would cause a “colossal humanitarian catastrophe”, warns the UN chief. “We are actively engaged with all relevant parties to resume the entry of vital supplies – including desperately needed fuel – through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings.”said Antonio Guterres, during a visit to Nairobi (Kenya), adding that a famine was looming in the enclave.
Four Israeli soldiers killed by explosive device. The Israeli army announced the death of four of its soldiers, killed by a “explosive device” in Gaza City, “near a school in the Zeitoun district”. It specifies in a press release that two soldiers, including an officer, were “seriously injured” by the explosion.
Some 110,000 people have fled Rafah to areas deemed less dangerous. The city is threatened with a large-scale assault by the Israeli army, which has called on civilians to evacuate. “Some 30,000 people flee the city every day.”declared the head of the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs for Gaza (Ocha), specifying that “Most of these people have already had to travel five or six times” since the start of the war.
No agreement between Hamas and Israel. The Hamas and Israeli delegations left the talks in Cairo, Egypt, on the evening of Thursday, May 9, after two days of fruitless discussions. Israel “rejected the proposal submitted by the mediators which we had accepted. As a result, the ball is now entirely in the occupation’s court”says Hamas.