Weekly The Generation, Year 1, Issue 16
December 19, 2023
Israel faced another round of global pressure on Tuesday for a ceasefire in Gaza with a new UN vote and fresh Western diplomatic efforts, although the United States vowed to continue arming its ally.
The UN Security Council was set to convene Tuesday to weigh a call for a ceasefire in the besieged Palestinian territory, after a previous bid was vetoed by the United States.
UK Foreign Minister David Cameron was also due to meet French and Italian leaders to push for a “sustainable ceasefire” in the conflict, his office said. The war in Gaza began when Hamas militants launched an unprecedented attack on October 7, killing around 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, and abducting 250, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says Israel’s military response has killed more than 19,400 people, mostly women and children.
The ministry said an Israeli strike killed at least 20 people on Tuesday in the southern city of Rafah, near the border with Egypt.
On a visit to Israel, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed Monday to keep arming its ally, which Washington has already provided with billions of dollars in military aid.
“We’ll continue to provide Israel with the equipment that you need to defend your country… including critical munitions, tactical vehicles and air defence systems,” Austin said.
Austin was touring the Middle East as concerns grew over the war’s spread around the region, with Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen attacking international shipping in the Red Sea in solidarity with Hamas.
Austin announced the formation on Monday of a 10-nation coalition to quell the rising number of Huthi attacks on tankers, cargo ships and other vessels in the Red Sea.
Source: Reuters
