One in six children are acutely malnourished in the isolated and largely devastated northern Gaza, according to a UNICEF study, while Israel has vowed to expand its five-moth offensive against Hamas to the enclave’s southernmost city of Rafah.
The report by the Global Nutrition Cluster says more than 90% of children under 5 in Gaza eat two or fewer food groups a day, known as severe food poverty. A similar percentage are affected by infectious diseases, with 70% experiencing diarrhea in the last two weeks. More than 80% of homes lack clean and safe water, with the average household having one liter (quart) per person per day.
The U.N. Security Council is set to vote on a U.N. resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire on Tuesday, but the U.S. said it would veto it because it’s trying to arrange a deal on its own that would bring a truce and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
The number of Palestinians killed during the war in Gaza has surpassed 29,000, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not distinguish between civilian and combatant casualties in its count. A quarter of Gaza’s residents are starving. About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and around 250 abducted in Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that sparked the war.
Currently:
— Israel orders new evacuations in northern Gaza, where UN says 1 in 6 children are malnourished.
— The UN Security Council is voting on a Gaza cease-fire on Tuesday, with the US certain to veto.
— Israel says Brazil’s president unwelcome until he apologizes for comparing Gaza war to Holocaust.
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here’s the latest:
US CERTAIN TO VETO A NEW UN CEASE-FIRE RESOLUTION
UNITED NATIONS — Arab nations are putting to a vote a U.N. resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, knowing it will be vetoed by the United States but hoping to show broad global support for ending the Israel-Hamas war.
The Security Council scheduled the vote on the resolution at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) Tuesday.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield says the Biden administration will veto the Arab-backed resolution because it may interfere with ongoing U.S. efforts to arrange a deal between the warring parties that would bring at least a six-week halt to hostilities and release all hostages taken during Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel.
In a surprise move ahead of the vote, the United States circulated a rival U.N. Security Council resolution that would support a temporary cease-fire in Gaza linked to the release of all hostages, and call for the lifting of all restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Both of these actions “would help to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities,” the draft resolution obtained by The Associated Press says.
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