Live updates | Israel strikes hit Gaza as UN delays vote on a cease-fire resolution
At least 10 Palestinians were killed and several injured, mostly children, after two separate Israeli strikes hits two homes in southern Gaza on Tuesday. (Dec.19)(AP video shot by Najib Jobain and produced by Annika Wolters)
Israeli troops launched more deadly strikes in Gaza on Tuesday and raided two of the last functioning hospitals in Gaza’s north, while the U.N. Security Council delayed voting on a resolution to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza during some kind of a halt in the fighting.
An Israeli strike on an apartment building in Rafah in southern Gaza killed at least 27 people, including women and children, and another killed at least three people, according to Associated Press journalists who saw the bodies arrive at two hospitals early Tuesday.
Nearly 20,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel declared war on Hamas, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Thousands more lie buried under the rubble of Gaza, the U.N. estimates. Israel says 132 of its soldiers have died in its ground offensive after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and taking about 240 hostages.
Currently:
— Diplomats at U.N. Security Council negotiate on Gaza humanitarian resolution, trying to avoid U.S. veto.
— U.S. envoys work for a new hostage release deal and a scale-down of the war.
— In Israel’s killing of three hostages, some see the same excessive force directed at Palestinians.
— Yemen’s Houthi attacks on commercial ships have upended global trade in the vital Red Sea corridor.
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here’s what’s happening in the war:
UN SECURITY COUNCIL AGAIN DELAYS VOTE ON HALTING GAZA WAR
UNITED NATIONS — Trying to avoid another veto by the United States, the U.N. Security Council postponed voting for the second day in a row on an Arab-sponsored resolution that would deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza during some form of halt in the fighting.
Security Council members remained in intense negotiations Tuesday, as the United States has asked for more time. Talks were ongoing in an effort to get the Biden administration to abstain or vote in favor of the resolution.
Initially planned for Monday, the vote has been pushed back until Wednesday.
The draft resolution on the table Monday morning had called for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities,” but this language was watered down in a new draft circulated early Tuesday.
It now “calls for the urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of hostilities.” The United States in the past has opposed language on a cessation of hostilities.
The draft also calls for the U.N. to establish a mechanism for monitoring the aid deliveries. This could be problematic because it bypasses the current Israeli inspection of aid entering Gaza.
U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday afternoon, when the vote was still set for 5 p.m. EST: “We’re still working through the modalities of the resolution.”
He said: “It’s important for us that the rest of the world understand what’s at stake here and what Hamas did on the 7th of October and how Israel has a right to defend itself against those threats.”
RED CROSS CHIEF PUSHES BACK ON ISRAEL’S CALLS TO PRESSURE HAMAS, CITING HER NEUTRAL ROLE
GENEVA — The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross says use of “public denouncements” hasn’t proven effective for the humanitarian group, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged her to put more public pressure on Hamas.
Mirjana Spoljaric spoke to reporters in Geneva on Tuesday after recent trips to both Gaza, where she visited a Red Cross hospital, and to Israel, where she met with Netanyahu and relatives of Israeli hostages held by the militant Palestinian group.
Video released by Netanyahu’s office of his meeting Thursday with the Red Cross president showed him arguing with her as they discussed the fate of more than 100 Israeli hostages believed to be in Hamas custody. He urged her to put more public pressure on Hamas.
“Pressure: It’s interesting how everybody wants me to put pressure on someone,” Spoljaric said at ICRC headquarters, alluding to the Red Cross’s historic role as an impartial and neutral aid group that often works confidentially to help ensure protection of civilians.
“I have been asked to publicly denounce so many things since I joined office,” said Spoljaric, who took up her post 14 months ago. “Public denouncements are not a tool that has proven effective. But it exposes us to a lot of criticism all the time.”
“Without neutrality, we wouldn’t be able to operate. Without confidentiality when it needs to be applied, it wouldn’t be successful,” she added. “But it’s precisely these two things that are criticized most.”
“What pressure are we talking about?” Spoljaric said. “The amount of pressure that I can impose on parties depends on the amount of support we get from all the state parties and especially states that can influence.”
The Red Cross has been involved in the release of 109 hostages held by Hamas and is working toward the unconditional release of all others being held
COMEDIAN JERRY SEINFELD VISITS ISRAELI KIBBUTZ NEAR GAZA
TEL AVIV, Israel — Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has visited an Israeli kibbutz that was overrun by Hamas militants on Oct. 7.
According to Israeli media, Seinfeld visited the burnt-out homes of Kibbutz Be’eri, which was one of the hardest hit in the Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 people and saw roughly 240 taken hostage.
Images on social media showed Seinfeld viewing the damaged homes as well talking to local residents. On the trip Tuesday, he also visited the site of the Nova music festival, where more than 300 revelers were killed.
On Monday, Israeli media said the Jewish-American entertainer met with the families of Israelis held captive in Gaza as well as with hostages recently released from captivity.
ISRAELI PRESIDENT INDICATES READINESS FOR PAUSE IN FIGHTING IF HAMAS FREES HOSTAGES
JERUSALEM — Israeli president Isaac Herzog said during a briefing Tuesday with foreign ambassadors that Israel is “ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid in order to enable the release of hostages.”
Herzog stressed that “the responsibility lies fully with Sinwar and the leadership of Hamas,” referring to Yehya Sinwar, Hamas’ top leader inside the Gaza Strip.
Hamas and other militants are still holding an estimated 129 captives. Hamas officials have said they would refuse anything less than a permanent end to Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and the release of all Palestinians detained by Israel in exchange for any release of hostages.
This year, instead of the president’s traditional New Years reception, Herzog held a briefing with ambassadors and diplomatic representatives of more than 80 countries. The presidency is largely a ceremonial role, meant to be seen as a unifying figure in Israel.
A GAZA FATHER’S TEARFUL GOODBYE AFTER LOSING 2 YOUNG KIDS TO AN ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Mahmoud Zoarab said farewell to his dead children, 17-day-old daughter Aisha and 2-year-old son Ahmed, from his hospital bed.
Wounded in the airstrike that killed his children, Zoarab grimaced with effort as he pulled himself up to cradle Ahmed, wrapped in a white burial shroud. Zoarab then wept and fell back again. Aisha, also bundled in white cloth, was placed next to him on his other side. At one point he tapped his heart, seemingly too exhausted to speak.
Aisha’s grandmother, Suzan, said the infant was born on Dec. 2.
The extended family was asleep when an Israeli airstrike hit their apartment building before dawn Tuesday, Suzan Zoarab said. She said two of her sons had apartments on higher floors, but the family stayed together on the ground floor amid fears of airstrikes.
In all, 27 people were killed in the strike, hospital officials. Suzan Zoarab said many were members of her extended family.
“They removed us from under the rubble and brought us here,” she said from the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah.
She lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has said Israel will not stop its air and ground offensive in Gaza until the Islamic militant group Hamas has been dismantled.
“I want to send a message to Netanyahu,” Zoarab said. “Does he think that by killing these children, he will achieve something? Have they succeeded now? Has he achieved what he wants? No, he hasn’t achieved what he wants.”
Dozens of mourners held a funeral prayer Tuesday morning outside the hospital in Rafah, before taking those killed in the strike for burial in a nearby cemetery.
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This story has been updated to correct the family’s last name to Zoarab, not Zoghroub.
DIPLOMATS AT THE UNITED NATIONS RUSH TO FIND COMPROMISE ON CEASE-FIRE RESOLUTION
UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Security Council members are in intense negotiations on an Arab-sponsored resolution to spur desperately needed humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza during some kind of a halt in fighting, trying to avoid another veto by the United States.
U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told reporters Tuesday morning that negotiations were still underway. Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh of the United Arab Emirates, the Arab representative on the 15-member council, said she hoped the council could vote on a resolution early Tuesday afternoon.
The council had scheduled a vote late Monday afternoon but it was postponed until Tuesday morning to try to get the U.S. to support the resolution or abstain.
The U.S. vetoed a Security Council resolution s backed by almost all council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The 193-member General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a similar resolution on Dec. 12 by a vote of 153-10, with 23 abstentions.
In its first unified action on Nov. 15 with the U.S. abstaining, , the Security Council adopted a resolution calling for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses” in fighting, unhindered aid deliveries to civilians and the unconditional release of all hostages.
The draft resolution on the table Monday morning called for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities,” but this language is expected to be watered down in a final draft, possibly to a “suspension” of hostilities or something weaker to get U.S. support, diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations have been private.
Security Council resolutions are important because they are legally binding, but in practice many parties choose to ignore the council’s requests for action. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, though they are a significant barometer of world opinion.
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Associated Press writer Edith Lederer contributed.
FOREIGN JOURNALISTS PETITION ISRAEL’S HIGH COURT FOR ACCESS TO GAZA
JERUSALEM — The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem filed a petition with the Israeli Supreme Court seeking immediate access to the Gaza Strip for the international media.
The association said multiple requests to the Israeli Government Press Office, the Israeli military and Defense Ministry received “no substantive response.”
In previous wars, Israel has also limited access to Gaza for journalists, but never for so long. The Palestinian territory has been completely sealed off since Israel declared war on Hamas more than two months ago.
“Freedom of the press is a basic civil right in a democratic society,” the FPA said in a statement. “We also believe it is in the public interest to get a fuller picture of conditions inside Gaza after 10 weeks of extremely limited and highly controlled access.”
The Foreign Press Association represents 130 media outlets in more than 30 countries, including The Associated Press, that operate in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
OVERSIGHT BOARD REVERSES META’S DECISIONS TO REMOVE 2 WAR-RELATED VIDEOS
MENLO PARK, Calif. — A quasi-independent review board is recommending that Facebook parent company Meta overturn two decisions it made this fall to remove posts “informing the world about human suffering on both sides” of the Israel-Hamas war.
In both cases, Meta ended up reinstating the posts — one showing Palestinian casualties and the other, an Israeli hostage — on its own, although it added warning screens to both due to violent content. This means the company isn’t obligated to do anything about the board’s decision.
The board said Meta’s use of automated tools to remove “potentially harmful” content increased the likelihood of taking down “valuable posts” that not only raise awareness about the conflict but may contain evidence of human rights violations. It urged the company to preserve such content.
The Oversight Board, established three years ago by Meta, issued its decisions Tuesday in what it said was its first expedited ruling — taking 12 days rather than the usual 90.
ISRAELI ARMY SUSPENDS SOLDIERS FOR ‘DEPLORABLE’ BEHAVIOR NEXT TO DETAINED PALESTINIANS
JERUSALEM - The Israeli army has suspended a group of soldiers recorded smoking a water pipe and joking in front of Palestinians who were detained and blindfolded.
The video, which was uploaded to social media and has garnered millions of views in the past two days, shows soldiers laughing and eating snacks as at least seven Palestinians are sitting blindfolded in the same room in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
“The behavior of the soldiers in the videos is deplorable and stands in stark contrast to the values of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces),” an Israeli army spokesperson said. After a disciplinary hearing, the reserve duty soldiers were suspended until further notice, the spokesperson said.
US VETERANS IN CONGRESS URGE BIDEN TO PUSH ISRAEL TO LIMIT CIVILIAN HARM
A group of U.S. Congress members who are veterans urged President Joe Biden on Monday to use “all our leverage” to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change a military strategy killing many thousands of civilians in Gaza.
“The mounting civilian death toll and humanitarian crisis are unacceptable and not in line with American interests; nor do they advance the cause of security for our ally Israel,” six lawmakers, all Democratic representatives, said in an open letter to Biden.
The six are Jason Crow, a Bronze Star recipient and former Army Ranger; Mikie Sherrill, a former Navy pilot; Chrissy Houlahan, a former Air Force officer; Seth Moulton, a former Marine; and Elissa Slotkin and Abigail Spanberger, former CIA officers.
The letter adds to pressure from Biden’s own party in Congress to push Netanyahu to rein in a massive air and ground campaign The lawmakers sit on armed services, intelligence and foreign affairs committees in Congress.
“Some of us also spent years fighting America’s war on terror. We know from personal and often painful experience that you can’t destroy a terror ideology with military force alone,” the lawmakers wrote. “Accordingly, we urge you to continue to use all our leverage to achieve an immediate and significant shift of military strategy and tactics in Gaza.”
UN SECURITY COUNCIL DELAYS VOTE CEASE-FIRE RESOLUTION, SEEKING TO AVOID US VETO
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council has delayed a vote on an Arab-sponsored resolution calling for a halt to hostilities in Gaza to try to avoid another veto by the United States.
The council said Monday’s 5 p.m. vote was pushed back until Tuesday morning, and diplomats said negotiations were taking place to get the United States, Israel’s closest ally, to abstain or vote “yes” on the resolution.
The draft resolution on the table Monday morning called for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities,” to allow unhindered access to deliver humanitarian aid to the massive number of civilians in need of food, water and medicine.
But this language is expected to be watered down to a “suspension” of hostilities or similar language to get U.S. support, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions have been private.
The importance of a Security Council resolution is that it is legally binding, but in practice many parties choose to ignore the council’s requests for action. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, though they are a significant barometer of world opinion.
The U.S. vetoed a Security Council resolution backed by almost all council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The 193-member General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a similar resolution on Dec. 12 by a vote of 153-10, with 23 abstentions.