The Israel-Hamas war is pushing Gaza towards famine, the United Nations warned ahead of an expected Security Council vote Friday on a resolution to boost aid to the Palestinian territory but not call for a ceasefire.
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Separate diplomatic efforts were also underway for a fresh pause in the worst-ever Gaza war, which was triggered by an unprecedented attack by Hamas militants on Israel in October.
With aid workers running out of words to describe conditions in Gaza, the UN Security Council has been locked all week in negotiations over how to phrase a resolution about the war.
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The latest draft seen by AFP calls for “urgent steps to immediately allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and also for creating the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.”
It does not call for an immediate end to fighting.
Backed by its ally the United States, Israel has opposed any reference to a “ceasefire”.
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Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the UN, told reporters that Washington would support the resolution if it “is put forward as is”.
The war began on October 7 when Hamas gunmen broke through Gaza’s militarised border and killed around 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Palestinian militants also abducted about 250 people.
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Vowing to destroy the group, Israel began a relentless bombardment of targets in Gaza, alongside a ground invasion, which has killed 20,057 people, according to the latest toll released Friday by Hamas authorities who govern Gaza.
Most of the dead are women and children, Hamas officials say.
The entire population of Gaza faces “an imminent risk of famine”, according to a UN-backed global hunger monitoring system on Thursday.
“We have been warning for weeks that, with such deprivation and destruction, each day that goes by will only bring more hunger, disease and despair to the people of Gaza,” UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths posted on X, formerly Twitter.