The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday called for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses in fighting between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip for a “sufficient number of days” to allow aid access.
The 15-member council overcame an impasse, which saw four unsuccessful attempts to take action last month, to adopt a resolution that also calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas.
The US abstained from voting on the resolution, which does not mention the word ‘ceasefire’, and Israel has rejected the Security Council’s legally binding decision.
More than 11,300 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the official death toll from Hamas’s attacks stands at more than 1,200.
Israeli forces launched another raid at the al-Shifa medical complex in Gaza City on Thursday, according to a doctor inside the hospital, as Hamas rejects claims of weapons being uncovered during an hours-long raid on Wednesday.
