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Israel-Hamas war: UN adds new humanitarian official for Gaza
Published 6 hours agoPublished 6 hours agolast updated 2 hours agolast updated 2 hours ago
As Israel’s campaign to defeat Hamas intensifies in central Gaza, the UN makes a new aid appointment. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden discusses the release of remaining hostages with Qatar’s emir. DW has more.

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Gazans search for people trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings in Maghazi refugee camp, central Gaza
Gazans search for people trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings in Maghazi refugee camp, central GazaImage: Adel Hana/AP
Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
Israel deepens military campaign in central Gaza
Biden talks to Qatar’s emir to discuss the release of remaining hostages held by Hamas
Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Sigrid Kaag takes on a new UN role for humanitarian aid in Gaza
Skip next section West Bank Health Ministry says 6 dead in overnight Israeli raid
2 hours ago2 hours ago
West Bank Health Ministry says 6 dead in overnight Israeli raid
Six people were killed in the West Bank city of Tulkarm in an Israeli raid, the Health Ministry in Ramallah said on Wednesday. It also reported several others wounded.

Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the six people were killed by Israeli airstrikes on the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm. It said that Israeli soldiers were also deployed in the area.

Israel’s military has yet to comment on the reported operation.

The Israeli-occupied West Bank has witnessed increased violence amid the conflict in Gaza, albeit not on the same scale. According to Ramallah authorities, more than 300 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed either by Israeli forces or settlers since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.

The West Bank is one of two Palestinian territories along with the Gaza Strip. It has been under military occupation by Israel since 1967. Many countries, including Germany, consider the growing number of Israeli sttlements there illegal.

The devastating cost of settler violence in the West Bank

03:17
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Skip next section Biden discusses ‘urgent’ need to release remaining hostages with Qatar’s emir
6 hours ago6 hours ago
Biden discusses ‘urgent’ need to release remaining hostages with Qatar’s emir
US President Joe Biden and Qatari leader Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani discussed the release of remaining hostages on Wednesday, the White House said in a readout of a call between the two.

The pair discussed “the urgent effort to secure the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas, including American citizens,” the statement said.

“The leaders also discussed the ongoing efforts to facilitate increased and sustained flows of life-saving access to humanitarian aid into Gaza,” it added.

The Qatari state news agency said Al Thani received a phone call from Biden to discuss the latest developments and the current joint mediation efforts for calming the situation in the besieged enclave to reach a permanent cease-fire.

Qatar had helped mediate the last hostage release deal which saw the release of some 110 hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza.

Israeli families campaign for safe return of Gaza hostages

04:26
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Skip next section Gaza authorities bury 80 unidentified bodies
6 hours ago6 hours ago
Gaza authorities bury 80 unidentified bodies
Gazan authorities buried the bodies of 80 unidentified Palestinians on Tuesday after they were handed over by Israel through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said.

According to the Islamic Waqf — or religious affairs ministry — the bodies were collected from the northern part of the Gaza Strip. They were buried in a mass grave in the south.

“Pictures are being taken to identify them later,” a representative of the Gaza Islamic Waqf said during the burials.

War, healthcare crisis make amputations commonplace in Gaza

02:01
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Skip next section Israel steps up offensive in central Gaza, as UN appoints new humanitarian coordinator
6 hours ago6 hours ago
Israel steps up offensive in central Gaza, as UN appoints new humanitarian coordinator
Israeli forces have stepped up their offensive in central Gaza, as they continue trying to root out Hamas militants in the Palestinian territory.

Hamas — classified a terrorist organization by the US, the EU and several other governments — attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing over 1,100 people.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy the militant group in retaliation for the attacks.

On Tuesday, AP news agency cited residents in reports that there had been shelling and airstrikes on the Nuseirat, Maghazi and Bureij camps in central Gaza.

The UN said the continued bombardment of central Gaza had claimed more than 100 Palestinian lives since Christmas Eve. The UN noted that Israel had ordered some residents to move there.

Also on Tuesday, the UN announced that Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Sigrid Kaag was the new special humanitarian coordinator for Gaza.

The appointment comes after the UN Security Council approved a resolutionlast week to step up the delivery of aid to residents in the besieged strip.

Tuesday also saw Israel’s minister for strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

More than 20,900 Palestinians, many of them women and children, have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.

Gaza death toll climbs as Israeli strikes continue

02:16
rm/kb (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)