Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Airstrikes on Gaza have led to reports of 330 deaths so far as Israel says it has aimed at dozens of Hamas targets in its heaviest assault on the territory since a ceasefire took effeect
Israel has battered Gaza with a wave of airstrikes killing hundreds of people in its war on Hamas.
Hospitals initially reported at least 235 people killed, including women and children but reports now say this has risen to at least 330, during the heaviest assault on the territory since a ceasefire took effect in January. It has shattered a period of relative calm during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and raised the prospect of a full return to fighting in a 17-month war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused widespread destruction across Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the strikes because of a lack of progress in talks to extend the ceasefire. Officials said the operation was open-ended and was expected to expand stating Israel would from now on “act against Hamas with increasing military strength”.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield raises her hand to abstain during a U.N. Security Council vote on a Gaza cease-fire resolution on March 25, 2024 in New York City. (Photo: Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“This resolution must be implemented,” said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. “Failure would be unforgivable.”
The U.S. on Monday declined to veto but still abstained from a United Nations Security Council on Monday to adopt a resolution demanding an “immediate cease-fire for the month of Ramadan” in the embattled Gaza Strip, a move that came amid an ongoing Israeli genocide in which more than 114,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded and hundreds of thousands of others are starving.
The Security Council voted 14-0, with the U.S. abstaining, to approve a resolution for the cessation of hostilities during the Muslim holy month after member states overcame a sticking point over the removal of the word “permanent” from an earlier draft version. Instead, the resolution calls for an “immediate” cease-fire.
The U.S. had vetoed three of the previous four cease-fire resolutions.
“This resolution must be implemented,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said following Monday’s vote. “Failure would be unforgivable.”
NEW—The United Nations Security Council has voted 14-0 to demand: –immediate ceasefire for Ramadan leading to "lasting" sustainable ceasefire –immediate unconditional release of all hostages
US abstained, even after successfully pushing to replace word "permanent" with "lasting" pic.twitter.com/zAjvI5nqgE
The resolution is a bare-bones call for a cease-fire during the month of Ramadan, which began on March 11. It also demands the return of about 130 hostages seized in Israel and held in Gaza and emphasizes the urgent need to allow ample lifesaving aid to reach a starving population in the besieged enclave.
The demand to end hostilities has so far eluded the council following the Israeli forces’ invasion of Gaza in October after Hamas attacks left almost 1,200 dead and 240 taken hostage.
Since then, Israel’s daily bombardment alongside its near-total blockade of water, electricity, and lifesaving aid has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the health ministry there, where a recent U.N.-backed report showed an imminent famine unfolding.
Palestinians—especially children—are starving to death in Gaza. Hospitals are under attack, with Israeli forces reportedly executing large numbers of people inside al-Shifa Hospital.
Meanwhile, the approximately 1.5 milllion Palestinians in the southern city of Rafah—most of them refugees forcibly displaced from other parts of Gaza—are bracing for an anticipated ground invasion, which Israeli leaders say will proceed despite a warning from U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris that such an operation would have “consequences.”
Monday’s vote followed intense negotiations over the measure introduced by 10 non-permanent Security Council members—Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, South Korea, and Switzerland.
The United States—which, despite growing frustration over genocidal atrocities, still arms Israel—brushed off a threat from far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a planned visit to Washigton by a high-level Israeli delegation if the U.S. did not veto the resolution.
The Associated Press reported Netanyahu followed through with his threat and canceled the trip.
Human rights defenders welcomed Monday’s vote.
“Israel needs to immediately respond to the U.N. Security Council resolution adopted today by facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid, ending its starvation of Gaza’s population, and halting unlawful attacks,” Louis Charbonneau, director of Human Rights Watch’s U.N. program, said in a statement.
“Palestinian armed groups should immediately release all civilians held hostage,” he added. “The U.S. and other countries should use their leverage to end atrocities by suspending arms transfers to Israel.”
Cross-party MPs urged for a concerted effort for lasting peace.
On March 9, the eve of the start of Ramadan, more than 1,200 people from 28 countries around the world met at the Baitul Futuh Mosque for the 2024 National Peace Symposium.
The Baital Futah Mosque in Morden, London, is the largest mosque in Western Europe and is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the third most popular branch of Islam.
The Peace Symposium, now in its 18th year, is organised by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Attended by dignitaries, including Ambassadors of State, MPs, and academics, as well as representatives from charities and faith communities, this annual event is aimed at promoting a deeper understanding of Islam and other faiths, and bringing communities together for the cause of peace.
As wars continued to devastate communities in Gaza, Ukraine, Yemen and Sudan, as peace-making efforts fall deeper into crisis, this year’s Peace Symposium called for immediate ceasefires and to build sustainable global peace.
The panel of speakers comprised of cross-political party representatives. Dame Sioban McDonagh, Labour MP for Mitchem and Morden, spoke of the oppression and suffering in Gaza. Addressing the Symposium, the MP said: “The Ahmadiyya community has been at the forefront of calling for peace since the very start of the conflict. It is his holiness who urged all world powers to de-escalate and work towards a lasting peaceful solution.”
