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Live blog: ‘Everywhere is a potential killing zone’ in Gaza: UN chief
Israel’s war on Gaza, now in its 284th day, has killed at least 38,664 Palestinians — the majority of them women and children –– and wounded 89,097, with 10,000+ estimated to be buried under the debris and 9,500+ abducted by Tel Aviv.
Israeli army hit a residential building, killing a child in Deir al Balah. / Photo: AA
AA
Israeli army hit a residential building, killing a child in Deir al Balah. / Photo: AA
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
0328 GMT — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over the ongoing situation in Gaza, saying “nowhere is safe” in the besieged enclave.
“The extreme level of fighting and devastation in Gaza is incomprehensible and inexcusable… Everywhere is a potential killing zone,” Guterres said on X.
It is high time for the parties to the conflict to show the political courage and political will to finally reach a deal, he added.
Separately, Guterres’ spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the UN is calling on all parties to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and to take constant care to “spare civilians and civilian objects.”
“I can further tell you that we and our humanitarian partners continue to assist families who are being displaced from northern Gaza to areas in the south,” he told the reporters.
Dujarric highlighted that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that with each new evacuation directive, families in Gaza are being forced to make impossible choices: Stay amid active hostilities or flee to areas with little space or services.
“There is no safe place in Gaza. Not shelters, not hospitals, and not the so-called humanitarian zones,” he stressed.
More updates 
0553 GMT — Israeli army kills Palestinian in occupied West Bank
A young Palestinian was killed by Israeli forces in the city of Al Bireh, occupied West Bank, Palestine’s official Wafa news agency has reported.
Security sources told the agency that Ahmed Ramzi Sultan, 20, was killed by Israeli live ammunition during clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli forces in northern Al Bireh.
The Israeli army withheld the body for hours before handing it to an ambulance crew, which transferred it to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah.
0432 GMT — US tells top Israeli officials Gaza civilian toll ‘unacceptably high’
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told two top Israeli officials of the “unacceptably high” civilian casualties in Israel’s bombardment of besieged Gaza, his spokesperson has said.
The Israeli military has launched several deadly attacks in recent days including on a refugee camp and multiple UN-run schools where civilians were sheltering.
In response, Palestinian resistance group Hamas said it was pulling out of ceasefire negotiations, causing prospects for a truce and hostage release deal to dwindle further.
Blinken received two influential Israeli officials — Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi — “to express our serious concern about the recent civilian casualties in Gaza.”
Casualties “still remain unacceptably high. We continue to see far too many civilians killed in this conflict,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.
0201 GMT — US confirms Houthi attacks on vessels in Red Sea
The US military has confirmed that Yemen’s Houthi group launched “multiple attacks” in the Red Sea against a vessel carrying vegetable oil from Russia to China.
The Houthis used one uncrewed surface vessel (USV) and two small boats in the attack against the MT Bentley I, a Panama-flagged, Israel-owned, Monaco-operated tanker vessel, US Central Command said on X, reporting no damage or injuries.
“Later, Iranian-backed Houthis launched an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen over the Red Sea toward MT Bentley I,” it said.
Separately, the army said the Houthi group attacked the MT Chios Lion, a Liberian-flagged, Marshall Islands-owned, Greek-operated crude oil tanker, with a USV in the Red Sea.
“The USV caused damage, but MT Chios Lion has not requested assistance. No injuries have been reported at this time,” it added.
2305 GMT — Gaza sees over 320 casualties in past 2 days due to Israel’s use of banned weapons: Officials
Local authorities in Gaza said that over the past two days, more than 320 Palestinians were admitted for hospital care across the enclave with severe burns due to internationally prohibited weapons used by the Israeli army.
In a statement, Gaza’s Government Media Office said doctor assessments suggested that third-degree burns on the bodies of patients, many of who died, were caused by the weapons used by the Israeli army.
The arms were mainly US-made, known as chemical or thermal weapons, and “are internationally prohibited from being used against humans,” the statement added.
It held the US government fully responsible legally for providing Israel with such weaponry.
2233 GMT — Netanyahu reiterates Israeli army to stay in Gaza-Egypt border area
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed that the army will remain in the Gaza-Egypt border area known as the Philadelphi Corridor while stressing that Israel’s Cabinet will decide on the matter in a vote.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is known to oppose Netanyahu’s position on keeping Israeli soldiers in the area.
Speaking to Israel’s Channel 14, Netanyahu said that Israel will remain in the Philadelphi Corridor, stressing that staying there has “political and security privileges.”
He didn’t elaborate further, however.
Netanyahu noted that everyone is allowed to express their opinion on the issue, including himself, but stressed that the decision to stay in the Philadelphi Corridor will be decided based on a majority vote in the Cabinet.
He added that he is confident that the Cabinet will back his decision to remain in the border area.
2151 GMT — Türkiye denounces Israel’s attack on Gaza hospital
Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry has slammed attacks by the Israeli army targeting the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in besieged Gaza.
“The photo in the Palestinian press showing a group of Israeli soldiers in front of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza is further evidence of Israel’s violation of international law and international humanitarian law,” the ministry said in a statement.
The hospital is “the only centre for cancer patients in Gaza,” it added.
“The damage caused to the hospital by Israeli forces and its use as a military base is part of Israel’s systematic policy aimed at the annihilation of the Palestinian people,” the ministry stressed.
Türkiye will continue to work to ensure that those responsible for these attacks are brought to justice in international courts, it said.
2108 GMT — Yemen Houthis say attacked two ships in the Red Sea
Yemen’s Houthis have said they targeted two tankers in the Red Sea with missiles and drones after a British security agency reported several attacks in the troubled waterway.
In a statement on social media platform X, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree identified the two ships as BENTLEY I, a Panama-flagged oil tanker, and the CHIOS LION, a Liberia-flagged crude oil tanker.
The BENTLEY I was attacked with “drone boats, unmanned aerial vehicles, and ballistic missiles”, while the CHIOS LION was targeted with uncrewed surface vessels, Saree said.
They were targeted because their owners had used Israeli ports, according to the spokesman.
For our live updates from Monday, July 15, 2024, click here.
SOURCE: TRTWORLD AND AGENCIES
