The United States is once again threatening to block a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council, at the initiative of Algeria, calling for a “humanitarian ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas. The American ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, believes that putting this text to a vote could “to go against” ongoing diplomatic negotiations for a truce including further releases of hostages. “If we came to a vote on the current project, it would not be adopted”, she warned, clearly threatening a veto. Follow our live stream.
Pessimism about the negotiations. Discussions for a truce have not “not been very promising in recent days”, recognized Saturday the Prime Minister of Qatar, whose country is mediating these talks. But “we will do our best to get closer” of agreement, added Mohammed bin Abdelrahmane al-Thani. Hamas threatened on Saturday evening to leave the negotiations if humanitarian aid was not quickly delivered to the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu decided to enter Rafah. The Israeli Prime Minister said on Saturday that he was determined to carry out a ground offensive in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, where there are 1.4 million inhabitants and refugees. Benjamin Netanyahu assured that this operation would be carried out “even if we reach an agreement on the hostages”.
More than 28 000 dead in Gaza, according to Hamas. The Israeli offensive in Gaza has left 28,858 dead, the vast majority of them civilians, the Hamas Ministry of Health announced on Saturday in a new report. According to Israel, 130 hostages are still held in Gaza, 30 of whom are believed to have died, out of around 250 people kidnapped. On October 7, Hamas members infiltrated from Gaza killed more than 1,160 people in Israel, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.