EU refrains from urging ceasefire in Gaza prior to UN vote amidst worsening Gaza crisis
EU leaders appeal for humanitarian pauses in Gaza crisis to aid the besieged enclave UN operations paralyzed due to lack of fuel Tragic list of Gazans killed continues to grow
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European Union leaders have refrained from demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and have instead requested humanitarian "pauses" to deliver aid. The United Nations expressed concern about its ability to operate effectively due to Israel's ongoing bombardment of the besieged enclave. This announcement follows unsuccessful efforts by the UN Security Council to pass a resolution addressing the Israel-Hamas conflict. Member states are now set to vote on a new draft resolution presented by Jordan on behalf of the Arab states on Friday.
Since October 7, Israeli strikes in Gaza have resulted in over 7,028 fatalities, including numerous children, as stated in the recent report from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, which is under Hamas control.
The international community is under mounting pressure to urge Israel to grant access for much-needed aid to enter Gaza. Numerous countries in the region, along with the United Nations, are urging for an immediate ceasefire, while others are advocating for a temporary halt in the fighting for humanitarian purposes.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, asserted on Thursday that calls for a ceasefire were not aimed at fostering peace but rather sought to restrict Israel's actions in eliminating a significant danger to its citizens. He emphasized that Israel's conflict was not with fellow human beings, but with monstrous entities. Erdan reiterated that the objective remained the complete eradication of Hamas' capabilities, and Israel would utilize all available measures to achieve this goal.
According to IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the purpose of the incursions is to eliminate Hamas militants, prepare for a full-scale invasion, and disable explosive devices and reconnaissance posts. In the meantime, official sources linked to Egypt's Al-Qahera News reported that six individuals were wounded when a rocket hit the Red Sea resort city of Taba on Friday.
A Palestinian man injured in an Israeli airstrike is carried on a stretcher at Nasser Medical Hospital, in Khan Younis, Gaza on October 27, 2023.
Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
An excavator clears rubble as people search for survivors and the bodies of victims after an Israeli bombardment, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on October 25.
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A Palestinian child is assisted as people search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a residential building in Gaza City on October 25.
Yasser Qudih/Reuters
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Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters
A view of buildings reduced to rubble and ruins by Israeli airstrikes are seen in Gaza on October 23.
An Israeli soldier stands in an armoured vehicle near the Lebanon border on October 23.
On October 22, at Tel Aviv University in Tel Aviv, Israel, the Smolarz Auditorium showcased photographs of more than 1,000 individuals who were either abducted, missing, or killed in the Hamas attack. These solemn images were thoughtfully presented on empty seats, serving as a powerful reminder of the devastating impact of this tragic event.
Palestinians look for survivors after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on October 22.
Hatem Moussa/AP
On Saturday, October 21, in Khan Younis, Gaza, civilians who were injured were rescued from the debris of a demolished house as a result of Israeli airstrikes. The house was located near a UNRWA school that was providing shelter to displaced individuals. The photograph credits Yousef Masoud/The New York Times/Redux.
An aerial view of residential buildings destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Zahra City, Gaza, on October 21.
Shadi Tabatibi/Reuters
Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Getty Images.
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Women grieve at an event for the families of Israelis who are missing or being held hostage in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 20.
A Palestinian woman mourns over the bodies of her relatives who were killed an Israeli airstrike that hit a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City on October 20.
On October 19, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant addressed soldiers near Israel's border with Gaza, expressing his confidence by saying, "From your current vantage point, you can observe Gaza from afar, but it won't be long before you experience it firsthand."
A man carries a wounded child at the site of an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 19.
Yasser Qudih/Reuters
A woman mourns over a dead man at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza City on October 18.
Belal Khaled/Anadolu/Getty Images
Photographs of people taken hostage by Hamas are seen in Tel Aviv on October 18.
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Israeli security inspects debris from a rocket in Kiryat Shmona, Israel, on October 18.
Ayal Margolin/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
Kenny Holston/The New York Times/Redux
Abed Khaled/AP
A bakery prepares rations of bread to pass out to displaced Palestinians in the Rafah refugee camp, in southern Gaza, on October 17.
Civil defense members and residents conduct search and rescue operations amid destroyed buildings after an Israeli attack in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Tuesday, October 17,
Street vendors work on a darkened street without power in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 16.
Palestinians wait to cross into Egypt at the Rafah border crossing in Gaza on October 16.
Fatima Shbair/AP
Palestinians carry a person wounded in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Monday, October 16.
Fatima Shbair/AP
Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian youth during his funeral in Nablus, West Bank, on October 15.
Wahaj Bani Moufleh/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images
Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images
Francisco Seco/AP
Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Leaflets dropped from Israeli army planes fall over Gaza City on Friday, October 13.
Palestinians rescue a wounded man from the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza, on October 13.
Israelis take cover after hearing warning sirens of incoming rockets fired from Gaza in Rehovot, Israel, on October 13.
Fire and smoke rise above buildings in Gaza City during an Israeli air strike on October 13.
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
Palestinians flee from northern Gaza to the south after the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning to seek refuge in the south, on October 13.
Hatem Moussa/AP
Israeli soldiers patrol near Kibbutz Be'eri, Israel, on October 12.
Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
A Palestinian woman covered in dust and dirt carries a child in Gaza City on October 12.
An Israeli army self-propelled howitzer fires rounds near the border with Gaza in southern Israel on October 11.
An aerial view of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes at the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza City on October 11.
Palestinians run from Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 11.
Israeli soldiers load donated food into the back of a military vehicle in Sderot, Israel, on October 11.
Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux
A mourner reacts while burying a child from the al-Agha family, who were killed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 11.
Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
A boy carries salvaged belongings from the wreckage of his family's home in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 11.
Yousef Masoud/The New York Times/Redux
Mohammed Salem/Reuters
Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
Atef Safadi/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Stranded travelers wait to be booked on a flight at Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv on October 10.
Israelis in Ashkelon take cover in a shelter as a siren sounds a warning of incoming rockets on October 10.
Israelis mourn as they attend the funeral of Israel Defense Forces soldier Noam Elimeleh Rothenberg at Mount Herzel Cemetery in Jerusalem, on October 10.
A Palestinian man reacts as he carries the body of his cousin who was pulled from the rubble after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on Monday, October 9.
Belal Khaled/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Children run for cover as bombs fall near the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 9.
Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux
People take shelter in Jerusalem on October 9.
Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux
Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux
Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Oren Ziv/AP
Israeli security and emergency officials respond after a rocket landed in the Israeli settlement of Beitar Ilit, in the occupied West Bank, on October 9.
Israeli soldiers work on a tank at the border between Israel and Gaza on October 9.
A plume of smoke rises in the sky over Gaza City during an Israeli airstrike on October 9.
The mother of Israeli Col. Roi Levy cries during her son's funeral at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem on October 9.
Maya Alleruzzo/AP
An injured Palestinian child is pictured in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes at al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza on October 9.
Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Tali Touito reacts as she describes how Hamas gunmen attacked and took over the police station on her street, in Sderot, Israel, on Sunday, October 8.
Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux
Fatima Shbair/AP
Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
Oded Balilty/AP
Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
Rockets launched from Gaza are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system on October 8.
A woman runs to her family's reinforced concrete shelter moments after rocket sirens sounded in Ashkelon on October 7.
Palestinians gather around an Israeli army vehicle that Palestinian militants drove from Israel into Gaza on October 7.
Palestinians break into the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, after gunmen infiltrated parts of southern Israel on October 7.
Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa/Reuters
Israeli police take cover in Ashkelon as sirens wail while rockets are fired from Gaza into Israel on October 7.
Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images
An Israeli woman reacts over the body of her relative who was killed in the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 7.
Baz Ratner/AP
Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Amir Cohen/Reuters
Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux
Relatives of Palestinians killed on Saturday, October 7, mourn at the morgue of a hospital in Gaza.
A woman stands in a room damaged by rockets in Ashkelon on October 7.
Smoke rises as the clashes between Palestinian groups and Israeli forces continue on the streets of Beit Hanun in Gaza on October 7.
People take cover in a bomb shelter in Rishon Lezion, Israel, as rockets are launched from Gaza on October 7.
Hadas Parush/Reuters
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Israel and the US have raised concerns about the reported casualty numbers from Gaza, but they have not presented any evidence to support the claim that they are exaggerated.
When questioned about the issue, White House spokesman John Kirby referred to the Gaza-based ministry as "a front for Hamas." However, he did not challenge the fact that thousands of Palestinians, including numerous innocent civilians, had lost their lives.
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The Palestinian Authority, based in Ramallah, is controlled by a different faction from Hamas. It oversees the Ministry of Health, which liaises with the ministry in Gaza. Daily death toll updates for Gaza are provided by both Gaza and Ramallah. CNN cannot independently confirm the accuracy of the death toll figures reported in Gaza.
The IDF said that the problem is not a lack of fuel in Gaza, but that it is in the hands of Hamas.
Having escaped from the Israeli army when she was young, she finds herself on the run once more in her nineties.
According to Israeli military intelligence estimates, IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus revealed to CNN on Thursday that Hamas currently holds control over a substantial quantity of fuel, ranging from 800,000 to possibly over one million liters, stored within Gaza.
UNWRA is facing the challenge of allocating limited fuel resources between bakeries and hospital wards due to the impending fuel shortage. Currently, over 600,000 individuals have been displaced and are relying on a single piece of bread each day. Additionally, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that twelve aid trucks, containing essential supplies like water, food, medicine, and medical equipment, entered Gaza from the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Thursday. However, no fuel was included in these shipments.
Reporting on the story, CNN's Hadas Gold, Jomana Karadsheh, Ruba Alhenawi, Hamdi Alkhshali, Kareem Khadder, Abeer Salman, Akanksha Sharma, Amy Cassidy, Tamar Michaelis, Jorge Engels, Lauren Kent, Richard Roth, and David Shortell provided their expertise.
