Israel pounded areas of the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and artillery on Saturday, a day after the United States vetoed a U.N. resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for the first time invoked Article 99 of the U.N. Charter, which enables a U.N. chief to raise threats he sees to international peace and security. He warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza. But U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood said on Friday that halting military action would allow Hamas to continue to rule Gaza and “only plant the seeds for the next war.”
The war was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, in which militants from Gaza killed about 1,200, most of them civilians and took more than 240 people hostage.
The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll in the territory has surpassed 17,400 over the past two months, with more than 46,000 wounded. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, but said 70% of the dead were women and children.
Currently:
• U.S. vetoes U.N. resolution backed by many nations demanding immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza
• ‘Shadows of children:’ For the youngest hostages, life moves forward in whispers
An Israeli fighter jet releases flares as it flies over the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023. Credit: AP/Leo Correa
• Bloodshed, fear, hunger, desperation: Palestinians try to survive war’s new chapter in southern Gaza
• Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here’s what’s happening in the war:
GAZA HOSPITALS REPORT 133 DEAD IN LAST 24 HOURS
Some rises from the Gaza Strip after Israeli strikes Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023. Credit: AP/Leo Correa
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Two hospitals in central and southern Gaza received the bodies of a total of 133 people killed in Israeli bombings over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory…
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