The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights calls for Israel to open an investigation into “a possible war crime” committed by its armed forces in the Gaza Strip. This UN agency says it has received “disturbing information” regarding the death of “11 unarmed Palestinian men” in Gaza City. They died Tuesday evening during an intervention by the Israeli army in a residential building where several families were sheltering. Follow our live stream.
Diplomatic efforts to negotiate a new truce. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh visited Cairo on Wednesday to discuss a new “one-week temporary truce in exchange for the release of 40 Israeli prisoners, women, children and men”explained a source close to the Palestinian movement to AFP. On the other hand, Israel is maintaining a dialogue with Qatar and the United States to try to reach a truce allowing the release of hostages. The positions of the two camps, however, still remain very far apart.
UN Security Council vote postponed. Tough negotiations must also continue on Thursday at the UN Security Council, which has postponed since the beginning of the week a vote on a resolution intended to accelerate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The text has been discussed for several days, to avoid facing a new veto from the United States, Israel’s historic ally.
The humanitarian crisis is worsening in Gaza. Half of the population there suffers from extreme or severe hunger and 90% of residents are regularly deprived of food for an entire day, according to Ocha. The war has caused immense destruction in this territory, most hospitals are out of service and 1.9 million people, or 85% of the population, have fled their homes, according to the UN.
Israel orders evacuations in Khan Younes. The Israeli army posted a message on social media on Wednesday ordering “immediate evacuation” part of the largest city in the south of the Gaza Strip. This decision concerns an area “covering about 20%” of the city, according to a report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha). According to the organization, the area to be evacuated includes some 141,000 Palestinians, refugees in 32 camps fleeing the fighting.