Live blog: UNSC adopts US-backed Gaza ceasefire resolution, Russia abstains

Monday, 10 June, 2024

1943 GMT — The United Nations Security Council has adopted a US-drafted resolution backing a proposal outlined by President Joe Biden for a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in Gaza.

Russia abstained from the vote, while the remaining 14 council members voted in favour. The US had finalised its text on Sunday after six days of negotiations among the council.

Biden laid out a three-phase ceasefire plan on May 31 that he described as an Israeli initiative.

Some Security Council members questioned whether Israel had accepted the plan to end the fighting in Gaza.

The resolution welcomes the new ceasefire proposal, "which Israel accepted, calls upon Hamas to also accept it, and urges both parties to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition."

"We're waiting on Hamas to agree to the ceasefire deal it claims to want," US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council before the vote. "With every passing day, needless suffering continues."

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1809 GMT — Blinken stresses post-war Gaza plan in meeting with Netanyahu

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasised the importance of a post-conflict plan in Gaza in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the State Department has said.

Blinken also stressed the importance of preventing the conflict from spreading, it said.

"He reiterated that the (ceasefire) proposal on the table would unlock the possibility of calm along Israel’s northern border and further integration with countries in the region," State Department added.

1752 GMT — US considers unilateral Hamas hostage deal, local media

US officials have considered negotiating a unilateral deal with Palestinian resistance group Hamas to release five American hostages held in Gaza if ceasefire talks involving Israel fail, NBC News has reported.

It was not clear what the United States might offer Hamas in exchange, according to the report, which cited two current and two former US officials.

The United States says Hamas is holding five Americans who were taken hostage in the group's deadly Oct. 7 incursion inside Israel, which prompted Israel's massive retaliation.

Officials are hoping to recover the bodies of three other Americans who were killed that day, NBC reported.

1751 GMT — Houthis say aid workers held over 'US-Israeli spy network'

Yemen's Houthis have said they had arrested a "spy network" operating under the cover of humanitarian organisations, after aid workers including 11 UN staff were held last week.

The Iran-backed group claimed the network was linked to the CIA and had been carrying out "espionage" activities in Yemen for years, initially through the United States embassy before it suspended operations in Sanaa in 2015.

"An American-Israeli spy network was arrested," the Iran-backed group's security wing announced in a statement, saying those held worked under "the cover of international organisations and UN agencies".

1748 GMT — UN chief condemns Israel's Gaza refugee camp killings to save hostages

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has conveyed "extreme sorrow" and condemnation over the deaths of Palestinian civilians following Israel's deadly attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp to free four hostages.

"Secretary-General expresses his extreme sorrow and his condemnation of the deaths of hundreds of Pales tinian civilians and injuries to hundreds more that happened in the context of the operation," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters during a news conference.

Citing information obtained from the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on the ground, Dujarric said hospitals in the region were overflowing after Israel's operation.

1705 GMT — Egypt welcomes Moscow's Arab-Russian meeting over Gaza proposal

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has welcomed a proposal by Moscow to hold an Arab-Russian meeting to discuss the situation in Gaza amid Israel’s devastating onslaught on the Palestinian enclave.

Shoukry held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of a meeting of the BRICS group of major emerging economies in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod.

The two diplomats discussed Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and ways to settle the conflict there, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

1634 GMT — UAE calls for 'immediate, lasting' ceasefire in Gaza

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has called for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza amid a deadly Israeli offensive on the Palestinian enclave.

Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed made the call during his speech before a meeting of the BRICS group of major emerging economies in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, according to a statement by the Gulf country's Foreign Ministry.

The UAE officially joined the economic bloc last August.

Bin Zayed also called for a "rapid and unobstructed delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need, as well as the release of all hostages and detainees."

1434 GMT — Top US diplomat arrives in Israel for Gaza ceasefire talks

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Israel to push for a much-awaited Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Blinken, who is on his eighth regional tour since the Gaza war broke out in October, landed in Tel Aviv and immediately headed to Jerusalem to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an AFP journalist travelling with him said.

1443 GMT — Palestinian groups insist on their truce proposal conditions

The Hamas and Islamic Jihad resistance groups have said that they were sticking to their conditions for accepting any proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.

These include an end to the war with Israel and a full Israeli withdrawal.

1442 GMT — Israel kills teenager in occupied West Bank: health officials

Palestinian health officials say Israeli forces killed a 15-year-old Palestinian in an overnight raid on Al Fara’a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

The military has said that its soldiers had begun a raid targeting "militants", killing one and wounding two others with live fire.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the boy killed as 15-year-old Mahmoud Nabrisi and said five others were wounded in the built-up camp, which dates back to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

1432 GMT — UN Security Council to vote on plan for Israel-Hamas ceasefire

The United Nations Security Council will vote later on Monday on a US-drafted resolution backing a proposal — outlined by President Joe Biden — for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian resistance group Hamas in Gaza.

The US finalised its text on Sunday after six days of negotiations among the 15-member council. It was not immediately clear whether veto-powers Russia and China would allow the adoption of the draft.

A resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the US, France, Britain, China or Russia to pass.

1412 GMT — Israeli drone shot down over Lebanon, Israeli military says

An Israeli drone was shot down over Lebanon by a surface-to-air missile, Israel's military has said.

"A surface-to-air missile was launched toward an Israeli Air Force UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) that was operating in Lebanese airspace. As a result, the UAV was damaged and fell in Lebanese territory," the military said.

1354 GMT — Hamas claims to kill Israeli soldiers in Rafah booby trap explosion

Palestinian resistance group Hamas has claimed to have killed Israeli soldiers in a booby-trapped building explosion in Rafah in southern Gaza.

The group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said its forces blew up a building where Israeli soldiers had barricaded in the Shaboura refugee camp in Rafah.

Several Israeli soldiers were killed and injured in the blast, it added in a statement on its Telegram channel.

1343 GMT — Blinken's Gaza comments 'biased to Israel': Hamas

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri has told Reuters that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's Gaza ceasefire comments were "biased to Israel" and that his stance is a real obstacle to reaching an agreement.

"Blinken's speech during his visit to Egypt is an example of bias to Israel and it offers an American cover to the holocaust conducted by the occupation in Gaza," he said.

1255 GMT — Blinken urges regional leaders to press Hamas on Gaza ceasefire

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said, as he began a trip to the Middle East, that he was urging leaders in the region to press Hamas to say yes to a ceasefire proposal to halt fighting in Gaza.

Blinken said Hamas was the only outlier in not accepting the proposal for a three-phase deal involving the release of hostages and talks toward an end to the fighting, to which he said Israel had agreed.

1145 GMT — UN food body pauses deliveries to Gaza via US-built temporary pier

The executive director of the World Food Program has said the program has "paused" its delivery of humanitarian aid via Gaza from the US-built floating pier off Gaza because of concerns for the safety of staff following Saturday's incidents.

"We're paused because I'm concerned about the safety of our people after the incidents yesterday (Saturday)," Cindy McCain said Sunday night during an interview with CBS News.

Noting that two of their warehouses were "rocketed" on Saturday, she noted: "So we've stepped back just for the moment to make sure that we're on safe terms and on safe ground before we restart. But the rest of the country is operational."

1134 GMT —At least 11 killed as Israeli jets hit homes, refugee camps in Gaza

At least 11 Palestinians were killed and scores injured in Israeli air strikes targeting homes and refugee camps across Gaza, according to medical sources.

Six dead bodies were recovered after an Israeli fighter jet struck a four-story building in Gaza City, the Civil Defense Agency said.

Two women and a child were among the victims, it added.

0943 GMT — Death toll has risen to 37,124 in Gaza: health ministry

In a statement on Monday, the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said more than 37,124 Palestinians have been killed, and 84,712 have been injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since October 7.

0939 GMT — Israeli army detains 30 more Palestinians in West Bank raids

The Israeli army detained at least 30 Palestinians in fresh military raids in the occupied West Bank, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.

Most of the arrests took place in Bethlehem, while the rest occurred in the cities of Jerusalem, Ramallah, Hebron, Salfit, and Tubas, the Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.

The new arrests brought to 9,155 the number of Palestinians detained by Israeli forces in the occupied territory since Oct. 7, 2023, according to Palestinian figures.

0937 GMT — Over half of Gaza's buildings destroyed: UN

The UN reported that more than half of the buildings in Gaza have been destroyed by Israeli attacks since Oct. 7.

"More than half of all buildings have been destroyed," the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) said on X, citing data from the United Nations Satellite Center (UNOSAT).

Stating the destruction in Gaza is "indescribable," it added: "Clearing the rubble will take years. Healing from the psychological trauma of this war will take even longer.”

Reiterating its call for a cease-fire, the statement said: "This suffering must end."

0842 GMT — Bodies of Palestinians recovered following Israeli army withdrawal from central Gaza

Emergency teams in Gaza retrieved bodies of Palestinians following a five-day limited incursion by the Israeli army into the eastern regions of Deir al Balah, central Gaza, sources and witnesses said.

The military withdrew from the city, but Palestinians attempting to return to their homes were targeted, leading to multiple casualties.

Emergency teams were able to access the areas previously occupied by the Israeli military and recover the bodies.

The military also demolished numerous homes and razed several residential and agricultural zones.

0752 GMT — Israeli forces raid West Bank refugee camps, cut off utilities

Israeli forces continued to attack Palestinian refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, with accounts of eyewitnesses saying that soldiers damaged sewage and water systems and cut off electricity during their pre-dawn raids, with some reports of clashes with residents who attempted to thwart the inhumane acts.

The Israeli army conducted two large-scale raids on the Al Fara refugee camp in Tubas in the northern occupied West Bank, leaving the camp after midnight but returning within two hours in the morning, according to a Palestinian source.

"The Israeli army began a large-scale operation at midnight, raiding homes and damaging property in the camp," Assem Mansour, head of the Popular Committee in Al Fara, told Anadolu.

He added that the forces had destroyed the camp's infrastructure, including sewage, electricity, and water networks, and that the power had been cut off since early on Monday morning.

0716 GMT — Hamas official urges US to pressure Israel to end war on Gaza

A senior Hamas official urged the United States to pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza, ahead of the planned visit on Monday by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the region to push forward ceasefire efforts.

"We call upon the US administration to put pressure on the occupation to stop the war on Gaza and the Hamas movement is ready to deal positively with any initiative that secures an end to the war," senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said.

0630 GMT — 2 Palestinians killed by Israeli army in West Bank cities

At least two Palestinians were killed by Israeli army gunfire in the northern occupied West Bank cities of Tulkarm and Tubas.

Tulkarm’s Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital confirmed to Anadolu the death of a 21-year-old Palestinian, Youssef Abdel Daim, by the Israeli army fire.

Another Palestinian was also killed and four others were injured during an Israeli army raid in the Al Fara camp near Tubas.

Palestine’s official news agency WAFA reported that medical teams transported a critically injured person from the Al Fara camp to the hospital, where doctors later announced his death.

0525 GMT — Blinken set to travel to Egypt, Israel for Gaza ceasefire push

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit Egypt and Israel at a critical time as Washington seeks to increase pressure on Hamas and Israel to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and ensure the war does not expand onto Lebanon.

Blinken is set to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo before travelling to Israel later on Monday, where he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, according to a State Department schedule.

The visit comes after US President Joe Biden on May 31 outlined a three-phase ceasefire proposal from Israel that envisions a permanent end to hostilities, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the reconstruction of Gaza.

0030 GMT — Netanyahu slams Gantz for resigning from Israel’s emergency govt

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu harshly criticised War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz for resigning from the emergency government.

Gantz announced his resignation earlier in the day, citing fundamental differences in the strategic approach and claiming that Netanyahu "prevents us from reaching true victory" in the war on Gaza.

War Council observer Gadi Eisenkot, a former Israeli army chief of staff, also announced his resignation.

Netanyahu said in a post on X that “Israel is in an existential war on several fronts. Benny, now is not the time to abandon the fight, it is the time to combine forces.”

“My door will stay open to any Zionist party that is willing to share the burden and help bring victory over our enemies and ensure the safety of our citizens,” he added.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir asked to join the War Cabinet after Gantz's resignation.

“In light of Gantz's retirement, I have directed a request to the Prime Minister asking to join the War Cabinet. It is time to make brave decisions, to get real deterrence, and to bring security to the South, the North, and all of Israel,” Ben-Gvir said in a post on X.

0216 GMT — UN food agency pauses its aid work at US pier in Gaza over security concerns, in latest setback

The director of the UN World Food Programme said they “paused” distribution of humanitarian aid from an American-built pier off Gaza, saying she was “concerned about the safety of our people" after what had been one of the deadliest days of the war there.

Saturday saw both an Israeli military assault that freed four hostages but left 274 Palestinians and one Israeli commando dead, and, Cindy McCain said, two of WFP's warehouses in Gaza had been “rocketed” and a staffer injured.

UN announcement of the pause appears the latest setback for the US sea route, set up to try to bring more aid to Gaza's starving people.

The US Agency for International Development described the pause as a step to allow for a security review by the humanitarian community in Gaza. USAID works with the World Food Programme and their humanitarian partners in Gaza to distribute food and other aid coming from the US-operated pier.

0200 GMT — US calls for UN Security Council vote on backing Gaza ceasefire plan

The United States announced Sunday it has requested a UN Security Council vote on its draft resolution backing a plan for an "immediate ceasefire with the release of hostages" between Israel and Hamas.

"Today, the United States called for the Security Council to move towards a vote... supporting the proposal on the table," said Nate Evans, spokesman for the US delegation, without specifying a vote date.

0100 GMT — Number of Palestinians killed in Israeli Nuseirat raid rises to 274

At least 274 Palestinians, including dozens of children, were killed, and hundreds more were wounded, in the Israeli raid that rescued four hostages held by Hamas, the Palestinian Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said.

The Israeli military said its forces came under heavy fire and responded during the complex daytime operation in central Gaza.

0011 GMT — 6 Palestinians killed in Israeli air strike on residential building in Gaza

At least six Palestinians including a child and two women were killed and a number of others injured due to an Israeli air strike on a residential building in Gaza City.

“Our teams in Gaza Governorate managed to retrieve six martyrs, including a child and two women, one of whom was pregnant, and several injured individuals following an air strike by occupation aircraft on a residential building in Gaza City,” said the Gaza Civil Defense Agency.

“The residential building, consisting of four floors, belongs to the Al-Areer family, located in the Al-Emal market area in Gaza,” added the statement.

For our live updates from Sunday, June 9, 2024, click here.