The United Nations (UN) has declared that more than one million people have faced displacement due to the sustained Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip over the past week. Experts have labeled the situation in this besieged area an ‘unprecedented human catastrophe.’
Relentless bombing over seven days has claimed nearly 2,500 lives, with the majority being ordinary Palestinians, and an additional 10,000 individuals have sustained injuries.
Meanwhile, members of the UN Security Council engaged in challenging discussions concerning a potential resolution. Two drafts, one from Russia and another from Brazil, are currently under negotiation, according to diplomats.
Russia circulated a draft on Friday, calling for an “immediate, durable, and fully respected humanitarian ceasefire.” This draft also calls for “unimpeded” humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, which has already been subjected to a years-long Israeli blockade. The Russian proposal strongly condemns all violence and hostilities against civilians and all acts of terrorism.
As Israel made efforts to push Gazans south, it claimed to have resumed the water supply to that part of the strip. Minister Israel Katz stated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden made the decision following their discussions. Netanyahu also visited frontline troops in the south on Saturday, indicating that “more is coming” without specifying when a ground invasion of Gaza would commence.
However, ahead of Tel Aviv’s anticipated assault on Gaza, the Arab League and African Union warned that such a move “could lead to a genocide of unprecedented proportions.” Both organizations called on the United Nations and the international community to intervene and prevent a catastrophe from unfolding.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian expressed concerns that “no one can guarantee control of the situation and non-expansion of the conflict” if Israel sends its soldiers into Gaza.
