Live Updates: Russian Deputy FM, WHO Director General Discuss Gaza Humanitarian Disaster
Live Updates: Russian Deputy FM, WHO Director General Discuss Gaza Humanitarian Disaster
Sputnik Africa
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The armed confrontation between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, now in its third month, has left more than a thousand Israelis... 15.12.2023, Sputnik Africa
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The armed confrontation between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, now in its third month, has left more than a thousand Israelis dead and tens of thousands of Palestinians injured.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is very worried about a possible genocide in the Gaza Strip amid Israel's invasion of the Palestinian enclave, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday.
"The Secretary-General is very concerned, he stressed his concern on what is happening in the way that civilians have paid the ultimate price in what is going on," Dujarric said during a press briefing when asked whether Guterres is concerned about a possible genocide in Gaza.
The spokesperson said that Guterres has spoken against the use of dehumanizing language when describing the situation in Gaza and beyond.
Guterres recently invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter asking the UN Security Council to take action and avert the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, but has never called Israel's actions genocide.
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16:56 15.12.2023
ICRC Chief Arrives in West Bank to Meet With Representatives of Palestinian Prisoners
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Spoljaric arrived in the West Bank on Friday, where she will meet with health authorities and representatives of Palestinian prisoners, the humanitarian organization said.
On Thursday, the ICRC said that Spoljaric had visited Israel.
"Mirjana Spoljaric, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), arrived in the West Bank on Friday amid fears of a deepening escalation resulting in rising humanitarian needs. … She will meet with health authorities as well as representatives of Palestinian detainees, to listen and share with them the ICRC's persistent efforts to regain access to monitor their treatment in detention," the ICRC said in a statement.
Spoljaric is also expected to meet with leaders of the Palestine Red Crescent Society and discuss efforts to provide aid to communities affected by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to the statement.
16:28 15.12.2023
Mossad Plans to Assassinate Overseas Hamas Leaders Once Hostages Released, US Official Says
The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad is tracking Hamas leaders outside of Gaza and will assassinate all of them once the last hostage held in the Palestinian enclave is back on Israeli soil, US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported on Friday, citing a US official.
"The minute the last hostage is on Israeli soil, the entire [Hamas] leadership - political, religious and military - will be killed in the countries where they live," the official told Hersh, as quoted on his Substack blog.
Mossad is already tracking the Hamas leaders, but killing them before the hostages are out is risky, the official said.
13:24 15.12.2023
US's Sullivan Says Palestinian Authority Needs to Be Revamped, Revitalized
The United States believes the Palestinian Authority (PA) needs to be revamped and revitalized to better represent the Palestinian people, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Friday.
"At a basic level, we do believe that the Palestinian Authority needs to be revamped and revitalized, needs to be updated in terms of its method of governance, its representation of the Palestinian people," Sullivan told a briefing in Israel.
The US would be a partner with the PA in this matter, as well as in efforts to deliver a vision on how Palestine and Israel could coexist in peace, the official added.
08:31 15.12.2023
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, WHO Director General Discuss Gaza Humanitarian Disaster
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin met with World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Geneva to discuss the organization’s efforts to respond to emergencies, in particular the humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"On December 14 in Geneva, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister S.V. Vershinin met with WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus... The parties discussed important issues of international cooperation in healthcare, including the development of a new convention, agreement or other international legal tool to combat pandemics, WHO efforts to respond to emergencies, in particular, the humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip," the ministry said.
08:29 15.12.2023
ICRC Chief Arrives in Israel to Discuss Humanitarian Needs Amid Gaza Crisis: Statement
International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric arrived in Israel on Thursday to discuss humanitarian needs and access to people affected by the Israel-Gaza war, the organization said.
"Mirjana Spoljaric, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), arrived in Israel on Thursday to discuss humanitarian needs and access to people affected by the ongoing conflict, in particular those held hostage ... President Spoljaric will meet with top Israeli officials to discuss ICRC's work to aid victims of the conflict in Israel," the statement said.
Spoljaric will also meet with families of the hostages captured by Hamas to listen to their concerns and tell them about the ICRC's efforts to access their relatives, the statement read.
On Friday, Spoljaric is scheduled to visit the West Bank, the ICRC said.
08:29 15.12.2023
WFP on Risk of Gaza Starvation Deaths: Food Security Report Under Review, to Be Out Soon
WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau on Thursday suggested waiting for the upcoming release of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, when asked about the risk of Gaza seeing deaths from starvation amid Israel's blockade and ongoing hostilities.
A reporter asked Skau whether, with half the people in Gaza starving, the WFP is observing deaths from starvation and if such occurrences are anticipated.
"I would wait for the report [IPC Report] that is thoroughly under review, and is based on information that is not only from the WFP, but from a wide range of partners. And so, I'm hoping to be able to answer that question, you know, in the next few days as this report has been released," Skau said during a press briefing.
The report includes a forward-looking assessment in the event the current situation persists, he added.
08:28 15.12.2023
Fatah Needs Hamas' Consent to Int'l Control to Form Interim National Gov't: Palestine Liberation Organization Member
Palestinian movement Fatah will not agree to the formation of an interim government of national unity of all Palestinian forces without the agreement of Palestinian movement Hamas to three conditions, including the establishment of international control, Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative party and a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), has told Sputnik.
"At a recent meeting of Palestinian political forces amid hostilities in the Gaza Strip, we offered Abu Mazen [Palestinian National Authority President, also known as Mahmoud Abbas] to form a unified leadership in all Palestinian territories that would include all movements, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, establish an interim national government until the war ends and elections can be held, but the Fatah leadership said it has three conditions that Hamas must agree to, including the establishment of international control," Barghouti said.
He added that Fatah requires Hamas to agree to resist only through peaceful means and not to violate the commitments made to Israel by the PLO.
"We in our party do not think that there should be any conditions for the creation of a government of national unity. Regarding the consent to international control, we consider this notion to be vague and unclear. What should it look like? Like what is happening now in Ukraine, or what the West is arranging for the Palestinians? We are talking about the need to respect international law and the United Nations Security Council resolutions. As for the PLO's commitments, Israel, on its part, has already violated them," Barghouti said.
08:26 15.12.2023
US Reportedly Notifies Israel Operation in Gaza Needs to Ease in Weeks, Not Months
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials notified them that Israel's military operation in Gaza must lessen its intensity in the coming weeks, the US media reported on Thursday citing US and Israeli officials.
"National Security Adviser Sullivan made clear in all meetings that the high intensity kinetic campaign needed to transition to the next lower intensity phase in a matter of weeks not months. [This is not] a deadline and we understand the campaign must and will continue, but in a lower intensity manner," a senior US official said as quoted by Axios.
The United States supports Israel's operation to oust Hamas and has rejected any efforts for a prolonged ceasefire in the conflict.
However, the United States has also warned Israel that its operation in southern Gaza must not cause further displacement of civilians because it could become too overwhelming for humanitarian networks to handle.
08:24 15.12.2023
Erdogan Tells Biden Necessary to End Unconditional Support to Israel, Presidency Says
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone conversation with his US counterpart, Joe Biden, and said that the United States needs to stop providing unconditional support to Israel, the presidency of Turkey said.
"President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a phone conversation with US President Joe Biden. During the talks, Israeli attacks on Palestinian territories, especially the Gaza Strip, bilateral relations between Turkey and the United States, the process of Sweden's accession to NATO, as well as global and regional issues were discussed. President Erdogan said that the human tragedy in Gaza must be stopped as soon as possible, and that full refusal of the US from unconditional support for Israel could quickly lead to a ceasefire," the presidency said in a statement.
Erdogan also said that the prolongation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip may have "global consequences," according to the presidency.
