– Iran claims the US tried to falsely attribute the Israel-Hamas conflict on it.
-Eight relief trucks with food, medication, and water arrive in Gaza.
-At the UN, the US and Russia offer opposing ideas for humanitarian relief.
-Leaders from the US and Saudi Arabia talk about measures to stop the dispute from getting worse.
JERUSALEM/Gaza — In response to calls for a pause or ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip so that humanitarian aid could be delivered to besieged Palestinian civilians, eight trucks carrying food, water, and medicine entered the enclave from Egypt late on Tuesday. These trucks included representatives from the United States, Canada, Russia, and Arab states.
Leaders from around the world tried to stop the crisis from getting worse over three weeks after Hamas militants surprised Israel by attacking southern Israeli communities in a spree that claimed 1,400 lives, most of them civilians.
During their phone conversation on Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia decided to pursue more comprehensive diplomacy “to maintain stability across the region and prevent the conflict from expanding,” according to the White House.
Deadly fighting has resumed between Israel and Lebanon’s heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah militia along the Israeli-Lebanon border, as well as between the Israeli military and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. A more extensive battle would put stability in an area vital to the world’s energy supplies in jeopardy.
Israel has been encouraged by the United States to postpone its intended ground attack as Washington works to liberate more of the more than 200 captives that Hamas is still holding in Gaza.
Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the UN, said the Security Council on Tuesday that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had made an incorrect attempt to hold Iran accountable for the Israel-Hamas conflict.
He declared, “Our commitment to peace and stability in the region remains unwavering.” “The United States has intentionally sided with the aggressor at the expense of the defenceless Palestinian people, thus intensifying the conflict.”
The Palestinian Health Ministry reported in a social media statement that since October 7, Israeli shelling has killed at least 5,791 Palestinians, including 2,360 children.
The ministry data could not be independently verified by Reuters.
US and Russia present opposing ideas
The US and Russia presented opposing plans for humanitarian assistance for Palestinian citizens at the UN. Russia wants to see a humanitarian ceasefire, while Washington has called for breaks. In general, a pause is thought to be shorter and less official than a ceasefire.
Vassily Nebenzia, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, told the Security Council, “The whole world is expecting from the Security Council a call for a swift and unconditional ceasefire.” This is exactly what the American draught does not provide. As a result, we cannot support it and fail to understand its value.
Arab nations adamantly support a request for a humanitarian truce as Israel’s aerial bombing of Gaza results in extensive building destruction.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, addressed the council, saying, “We followed with regret this council’s inability to adopt a resolution or even to call for a ceasefire to end this war.”
Last Monday, Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, demanded an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza.
“Humanitarian pauses associated with the delivery of aid that still permit Israel to conduct military operations to defend itself are worth consideration, even though we remain opposed to a ceasefire,” a senior U.S. official stated.
Late on Tuesday, eight trucks carrying food, medication, and water arrived in the Gaza Strip from Egypt, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The first aid convoy entered Gaza from Egypt on Saturday, but according to U.N. agencies, the 2.3 million residents of the small coastal strip require more than 20 times the present supply.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa, “I think that’s something Canada supports. There are a lot of conversations going on about the need for humanitarian pauses.”
hospitals with gasoline shortages
Physicians in Gaza report that after over 1.4 million people left their homes for makeshift shelters, patients presenting to hospitals are exhibiting symptoms of diseases brought on by overcrowding and inadequate sanitation.
Every hospital claims that the fuel for its electricity generators is running low, making it harder for them to provide medical care to the sick and injured. According to a spokeswoman for the health ministry, more than 40 medical facilities have stopped operating.
The United Nations organisation for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, issued a warning in a post on messaging app X that it would stop operations in Gaza on Wednesday night due to a fuel shortage.
But in order to keep Hamas from obtaining fuel, the Israeli military reiterated on Tuesday that it would prohibit its entry.
According to three diplomats and a source in the area acquainted with the negotiations, Qatari mediators are pressuring Hamas to expedite the release of hostages, including women and children, and to do so without anticipating Israeli concessions.
The Gulf state is spearheading mediation negotiations between Hamas and Israel on the release of captives taken in the group’s Oct. 7 attack, in cooperation with the United States.
Four captives have been freed by Hamas: two Israeli civilian women on Monday and a mother and daughter who hold dual citizenship with the United States and Israel on Friday.
