Saudi Arabia joins global calls for de-escalation of conflict between Palestinians, Israelis

Update Saudi Arabia joins global calls for de-escalation of conflict between Palestinians, Israelis
Smoke is seen in the Rehovot area in Israel as rockets are launched from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023. (Reuters)
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Updated 07 October 2023
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Saudi Arabia joins global calls for de-escalation of conflict between Palestinians, Israelis

Saudi Arabia joins global calls for de-escalation of conflict between Palestinians, Israelis
  • Countries urge utmost restraint to avoid exposing civilians to further danger
  • ‘Unequivocal’ condemnation of ‘terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel’

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has called for an “immediate halt to the escalation of conflict between Palestinians and Israel” after Hamas militants carried out an unprecedented attack on daybreak Saturday.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement that it “is closely following developments in the unprecedented situation between a number of Palestinian factions and the Israeli occupation forces, which has resulted in a high level of violence taking place on a number of fronts there.”

“We recall our repeated warnings of the dangers of the situation exploding as a result of the continued occupation,” the statement said. It also called on the international community to activate a credible peace process that would lead to a two-state solution.

Foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the escalation of the violence in Gaza, the foreign ministry said.

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Jassem Albudaiwi called for an immediate cease-fire between the two sides to protect innocent civilians.

He “held the Israeli occupation forces responsible for the current situation resulting from the continuous and flagrant Israeli attacks against the Palestinian people and holy sites,” the GCC said in a statement.

Albudaiwi added that the ongoing Israeli attacks represent a blatant violation of international conventions and laws, hindering the peace process for resolving the Palestinian issue. 

The UAE foreign affairs ministry, in a statement on social media, also called for an ‘end to the escalation between the Israelis and the Palestinians.’

The UAE has called for exercising the utmost restraint and an immediate ceasefire in order to avoid serious repercussions, and “urged the international community to immediately reactivate the international Quartet to revive the path process of Arab-Israeli peace, and increase all efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace, and prevent the region from experiencing further violence, tension, and instability.”

Kuwait expressed its “grave concern” over the developments, blaming Israel for what it called its “blatant attacks.”

The foreign ministry in a statement called on the international community to “stop the provocative practices by the occupation” and the “policy of expanding settlements.”

Oman also called on both parties to “exercise utmost levels of restraint, stressing the importance of protecting civilians.”

“Oman is following with concern the ongoing escalation between the Palestinian and Israeli sides as a result of continued illegal Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, constant Israeli aggressions, which portend serious repercussions,” Oman’s state media said.

Egypt urged the Palestinians and Israel to “exercise restraint” and warned of the “dire danger of ongoing escalation.”

Egypt also called on the international community to “urge Israel to stop the attacks and provocative actions against the Palestinian people and to adhere to the principles of international humanitarian law with regard to the responsibilities of an occupying state.”

Military operations undertaken by the Palestinian people on Saturday are a natural result of decades of “systemic oppression” by the “Zionist Occupation authority,” a statement by the Iraqi government’s official spokesperson said.

The statement also warned of a continued escalation in the Palestinian territories, which it said could affect the stability of the region.

The Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves against the “terror of settlers and occupation troops,” the official news agency WAFA quoted President Mahmoud Abbas as saying.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warned of the “volatility” of the situation, “particularly in light of what cities and areas of the West Bank are witnessing of Israeli attacks and violations against the Palestinian people.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meanwhile has called “on Israelis, Palestinians to act with restraint, refrain from aggressive acts that will exacerbate situation.”

“We invite all parties to act reasonably and to stay away from impulsive steps that raise tensions,” Erdogan said.

Qatar’s foreign ministry issued a statement saying that Israel alone was responsible for the ongoing escalation of violence with the Palestinian people.

It said Qatar calls on both sides to exercise utmost restraint and calls on the international community to prevent Israel from using these events as an excuse to launch a disproportionate war against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

Bahrain called for self-restraint in the Gaza Strip, saying that continued fighting had negative consequences on the region’s peace and stability.

It stressed “the need for de-escalation among all parties to preserve the lives of people” in a statement from the foreign ministry.

“The continuation of violence will impede efforts aiming at achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East,” it said, adding that it called upon the international community to help end the armed conflict and to protect civilians.

Morocco expressed “its deep concern at the deterioration of the situation and the outbreak of military action in the Gaza Strip, and condemns attacks against civilians wherever they may be,” a foreign ministry statement said.

“The kingdom calls for an immediate halt to the escalation between the two sides, protection of civilians, and self-control,” it added.

Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit urged “an immediate halt to military operations in Gaza” and “the cycle of armed confrontation between the two sides.”

He said: “Israel’s continued implementation of violent and extremist policies is a time bomb depriving the region of any serious opportunity for stability in the foreseeable future.”

The Jeddah-based Organization for Islamic Cooperation — that the attack was “a result of the continued occupation and deprivation of the Palestinian people of their legitimate rights.”

The Muslim World League and the Arab Parliament echoed similar statements.

A White House National Security Council spokesperson said the US “unequivocally condemns” attacks by the Palestinian group Hamas against Israeli civilians and firmly stands with the government and people of Israel, CNN reported on Saturday.

Citing a statement from the spokesperson, CNN reported that White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had spoken with his Israeli counterpart, Tzachi Hanegbi, and would remain in close contact.

US President Joe Biden on Saturday warned “against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation” after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a large-scale surprise attack.

 

 

Biden said in his statement that he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and underlined that the United States stood “ready to offer all appropriate means of support.”

“I made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support to the Government and people of Israel,” Biden said in a statement issued after their call.

“Israel has a right to defend itself and its people. The United States warns against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation,” Biden added.

Russia has also urged for ‘restraint’ after the attacks on Israel.

“We are now in contact with everyone. With the Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs,” Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Russian private news agency Interfax, adding: “Of course, we always call for restraint.”

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said that she ‘unequivocally’ condemned the ‘terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel’, adding that it was ‘terrorism in its most contemptible form’.

“This horrific violence must stop immediately. Terrorism and violence solve nothing. The EU expresses its solidarity with Israel in these difficult moments,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell meanwhile said.

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte meanwhile said: “Appalling images from Israel. Terror organization Hamas is waging an unprecedented attack on Israel... This violence must stop; Israel has every right to defend itself.”

“The UK unequivocally condemns the horrific attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians. The UK will always support Israel’s right to defend itself,” Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a post on social media.

Italy meanwhile said it backed “Israel’s right to defend itself” against the “brutal attack” underway after hundreds of rockets were fired on its territory from Gaza.

The Italian government said it “condemns in the strongest terms the terror and the violence underway against innocent civilians”, adding: “We back the right of Israel to defend itself”.

Spain’s acting Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on social media platform X on Saturday condemned attacks from Gaza against Israel.

“We strongly condemn the very serious terrorist attacks from Gaza against Israel.

“Overwhelmed by this indiscriminate violence. All our solidarity (is) with the victims.”

German top envoy Annalena Baerbock said that Germany “firmly condemns the terrorist attacks from Gaza against Israel” and it “has our full solidarity” and “the right, guaranteed by international law, to defend itself against terrorism.”

The French foreign ministry also condemned “in the strongest possible terms the ongoing terrorist attacks against Israel and its population” after the firing of hundreds of rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip.

France “expresses its full solidarity with Israel and the victims of these attacks. It reaffirms its absolute rejection of terrorism and its commitment to Israel’s security”, the ministry added.

French President Emmanuel Macron has also strongly condemned attacks in a post on social media.

Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament meanwhile said: We condemn the attacks launched by Hamas on Israel.”

Stephanie Hallett, the US Chargé d’Affaires to Israel said on social media: “I condemn the indiscriminate rocket fire by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians. I am in contact with Israeli officials, and fully support Israel’s right to defend itself from such terrorist acts.

“Sickened by the images coming out of southern Israel of dead and wounded civilians at the hands of terrorists from Gaza. The United States stands with Israel.”

Ukraine’s foreign ministry also condemned what it described as “ongoing terrorist attacks” on Israel.

“Ukraine strongly condemns the ongoing terrorist attacks against Israel, including rocket attacks against the civilian population in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv,” the ministry said on the social media platform X.

(With Agencies)


Israel orders the evacuation of an area designated as a humanitarian zone in Gaza

Israel orders the evacuation of an area designated as a humanitarian zone in Gaza
Updated 27 July 2024
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Israel orders the evacuation of an area designated as a humanitarian zone in Gaza

Israel orders the evacuation of an area designated as a humanitarian zone in Gaza
  • The war in Gaza has killed more than 39,100 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Health Ministry

KHAN YOUNIS: Israel’s military ordered the evacuation Saturday of a crowded part of Gaza designated as a humanitarian zone, saying it is planning an operation against Hamas militants in Khan Younis, including parts of Muwasi, a makeshift tent camp where thousands are seeking refuge.
The order comes in response to rocket fire that Israel says originates from the area. It’s the second evacuation issued in a week in an area designated for Palestinians fleeing other parts of Gaza. Many Palestinians have been uprooted multiple times in search of safety during Israel’s punishing air and ground campaign.
On Monday, after the evacuation order, multiple Israeli airstrikes hit around Khan Younis, killing at least 70 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, citing figures from Nasser Hospital.
The area is part of a 60-square-kilometer (roughly 20-square-mile) “humanitarian zone” to which Israel has been telling Palestinians to flee to throughout the war. Much of the area is blanketed with tent camps that lack sanitation and medical facilities and have limited access to aid, United Nations and humanitarian groups say. About 1.8 million Palestinians are sheltering there, according to Israel’s estimates. That’s more than half Gaza’s pre-war population of 2.3 million.
The war in Gaza has killed more than 39,100 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. The UN estimated in February that some 17,000 children in the territory are now unaccompanied, and the number is likely to have grown since.
The war began with an assault by Hamas militants on southern Israel on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took about 250 hostages. About 115 are still in Gaza, about a third of them believed to be dead, according to Israeli authorities.


WHO sends over 1 mln polio vaccines to Gaza to protect children

WHO sends over 1 mln polio vaccines to Gaza to protect children
Updated 27 July 2024
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WHO sends over 1 mln polio vaccines to Gaza to protect children

WHO sends over 1 mln polio vaccines to Gaza to protect children
  • Israel’s military said it would start offering the vaccine to soldiers in the Gaza Strip after remnants of the virus were found in test samples
  • Besides polio, the UN has reported an increase in cases of Hepatitis A, dysentery and gastroenteritis as sanitary conditions deteriorate in Gaza

GENEVA: The World Health Organization is sending more than one million polio vaccines to Gaza to be administered over the coming weeks to prevent children being infected after the virus was detected in sewage samples, its chief said on Friday.
“While no cases of polio have been recorded yet, without immediate action, it is just a matter of time before it reaches the thousands of children who have been left unprotected,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an opinion piece in Britain’s The Guardian newspaper.
He wrote that children under five were most at risk from the viral disease, and especially infants under two since normal vaccination campaigns have been disrupted by more than nine months of conflict.
Poliomyelitis, which is spread mainly through the fecal-oral route, is a highly infectious virus that can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis. Cases of polio have declined by 99 percent worldwide since 1988 thanks to mass vaccination campaigns and efforts continue to eradicate it completely.
Israel’s military said on Sunday it would start offering the polio vaccine to soldiers serving in the Gaza Strip after remnants of the virus were found in test samples in the enclave.
Besides polio, the UN reported last week a widespread increase in cases of Hepatitis A, dysentery and gastroenteritis as sanitary conditions deteriorate in Gaza, with sewage spilling into the streets near some camps for displaced people.


How climate change is exacerbating food insecurity, with dangerous consequences for import-reliant Middle East

How climate change is exacerbating food insecurity, with dangerous consequences for import-reliant Middle East
Updated 27 July 2024
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How climate change is exacerbating food insecurity, with dangerous consequences for import-reliant Middle East

How climate change is exacerbating food insecurity, with dangerous consequences for import-reliant Middle East
  • UN report show nations are falling well short of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of eliminating hunger by 2030
  • FAO expert warns that climate shocks could lead to more conflict in the region over limited access to water and resources

RIYADH: Global food insecurity is far worse than previously thought. That is the conclusion of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 report published this week by a coalition of UN entities, which found that efforts to tackle undernourishment had suffered serious setbacks.

As countries across the world fall significantly short of achieving the second UN Sustainable Development Goal of “zero hunger” by 2030, the report notes that climate change is increasingly recognized as a pivotal factor exacerbating hunger and food insecurity.

As a major food importer, the Middle East and North Africa region is considered especially vulnerable to climate-induced crop failures in source nations and the resulting imposition of protectionist tariffs and fluctuations in commodity prices.

“Climate change is a driver of food insecurity for the Middle East, where both the global shock and the local shock matter,” David Laborde, director of the Agrifood Economics and Policy Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, told Arab News.

“Now, especially for the Middle East, I think that the global angle is important because the Middle East is importing a lot of food. Even if you don’t have a (climate) shock at home, if you don’t have a drought or flood at home — if it’s happened in Pakistan, if it’s happened in India, if it’s happened in Canada — the Middle East will feel it.”

Opinion

This section contains relevant reference points, placed in (Opinion field)

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report has been compiled annually since 1999 by FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the UN Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme, and the World Health Organization to monitor global progress toward ending hunger. 

During a recent event at the UN headquarters in New York, the report’s authors emphasized the urgent need for creative and fair solutions to address the financial shortfall for helping those nations experiencing severe hunger and malnutrition made worse by climate change. 

In addition to climate change, the report found that factors like conflict and economic downturns are becoming increasingly frequent and severe, impacting the affordability of a healthy diet, unhealthy food environments, and inequality.

In this photo taken on July 2, 2022, Iraqi farmer Bapir Kalkani inspects his wheat farm in the Rania district near the Dukan reservoir, northwest of Iraq's northeastern city of Sulaimaniyah, which has been experiencing bouts of drought due to a mix of factors including lower rainfall and diversion of inflowing rivers from Iran. (AFP)

Indeed, food insecurity and malnutrition are intensifying due to persistent food price inflation, which has undermined economic progress globally. 

“There is also an indirect effect that we should not neglect — how climate shock interacts with conflict,” said Laborde.

In North Africa, for example, negative climate shocks can lead to more conflict, “either because people start to compete for natural resources, access to water, or just because you may also have some people in your area that have nothing else to do,” he said.

“There are no jobs, they cannot work on their farm, and so they can join insurgencies or other elements.”

DID YOUKNOW?

Up to 757 million people endured hunger in 2023 — the equivalent of one in 11 worldwide and one in five in Africa.

Global prevalence of food insecurity has remained unchanged for three consecutive years, despite progress in Latin America.

There has been some improvement in the global prevalence of stunting and wasting among children under five.

In late 2021, G20 countries pledged to take $100 billion worth of unused Special Drawing Rights, held in the central banks of high-income countries and allocate them to middle- and low-income countries.

Since then, however, this pledged amount has fallen $13 billion short, with those countries with the worst economic conditions receiving less than 1 percent of this support. 

Protesters set out empty plates to protest hunger aimed at G20 finance ministers gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 25, 2024. (AP/Pool)

Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that has exceeded its 20 percent pledge, alongside Australia, Canada, China, France, and Japan, while others have failed to reach 10 percent or have ceased engagement altogether.

“Saudi Arabia is a very large state in the Middle East, so what they do is important, but also they have a financial capacity that many other countries don’t,” said Laborde.

“It can be through their SDRs. It can also be through their sovereign fund because where you invest matters and how you invest matters to make the world more sustainable. So, I will say yes, prioritizing investment in low- and middle-income countries on food and security and nutrition-related programs can be important.

Saudi Arabia does produce wheat but on a limited scale. (SPA/File photo)

Although the prevalence of undernourishment in Saudi Arabia has fallen in recent years, the report shows that the rate of stunting in children has actually increased by 1.4 percent in the past 10 years.

There has also been an increase in the rates of overweight children, obesity, and anemia in women as the population continues to grow. In this sense, it is not so much a lack of food but a dearth of healthy eating habits.

“Saudi Arabia is a good example where I would say traditional hunger and the lack of food … become less and less a problem, but other forms of malnutrition become actually what is important,” said Laborde. 

In 2023, some 2.33 billion people worldwide faced moderate or severe food insecurity, and one in 11 people faced hunger, made worse by various factors such as economic decline and climate change.

The affordability of healthy diets is also a critical issue, particularly in low-income countries where more than 71 percent of the population cannot afford adequate nutrition.

In countries like Saudi Arabia where overeating is a rising issue, Laborde suggests that proper investment in nutrition and health education as well as policy adaptation may be the way to go. 

While the Kingdom continues to extend support to countries in crisis, including Palestine, Sudan, and Yemen, through its humanitarian arm KSrelief, these states continue to grapple with dire conditions. Gaza in particular has suffered as a result of the war with Israel.

A shipment of food aid from Saudi Arabia is loaded on board a cargo vessel at the Jeddah Islamic Port to be delivered to Port Said in Egypt for Palestinians in Gaza. (KSrelief photo)

“Even before the beginning of the conflict, especially at the end of last year, the situation in Palestine was complicated, both in terms of agricultural system (and) density of population. There was already a problem of malnutrition,” said Laborde.

“Now, something that is true everywhere, in Sudan, in Yemen, in Palestine, when you start to add conflict and military operations, the population suffers a lot because you can actually destroy production. You destroy access to water. But people also cannot go to the grocery shop when the truck or the ship bringing food is disrupted.”

While Palestine and Sudan are the extreme cases, there are still approximately 733 million people worldwide facing hunger, marking a continuation of the high levels observed over the past three years. 

“On the ground, we work with the World Food Programme (and) with other organizations, aimed at bringing food to the people in need in Palestine,” Laborde said of FAO’s work. “Before the conflict and after, we will also be working on rebuilding things that need to be rebuilt. But without peace, there are limited things we can do.”

FAO helps food-insecure nations by bringing better seeds, animals, technologies, and irrigation solutions to develop production systems, while also working to protect livestock from pests and disease by providing veterinary services and creating incentives for countries to adopt better policies.

The report’s projections for 2030 suggest that around 582 million people will continue to suffer from chronic undernourishment, half of them in Africa. This mirrors levels observed in 2015 when the SDGs were adopted, indicating a plateau in progress.

Graphic showing progress on the United Nation's 17 sustainable development goals since the baseline of 2015. (AFP)

The report emphasizes the need to create better systems of financial distribution as per this year’s theme: “Financing to end hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition.”

“In 2022, there were a lot of headlines about global hunger, but today, this has more or less disappeared when the numbers and the people that are hungry have not disappeared,” said Laborde, referring to the detrimental impact of the war in Ukraine on world food prices.

“We have to say that we are not delivering on the promises that policymakers have made. The world today produces enough food, so it’s much more about how we distribute it, how we give access. It’s a man-made problem, and so it should be a man-made solution.”
 

 


Khan Yunis fighting displaces 180,000 Gazans in four days: UN

Khan Yunis fighting displaces 180,000 Gazans in four days: UN
Updated 27 July 2024
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Khan Yunis fighting displaces 180,000 Gazans in four days: UN

Khan Yunis fighting displaces 180,000 Gazans in four days: UN
  • Israel has killed at least 39,175 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry

KHAN YUNIS, Palestinian Territories: More than 180,000 Palestinians have fled fierce fighting around the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis in four days, the United Nations said Friday, after an Israeli operation to extract captives’ bodies from the area.
Recent “intensified hostilities” in the Khan Yunis area, more than nine months into the Israel-Hamas war, have fueled “new waves of internal displacement across Gaza,” said the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA.
It said “about 182,000 people” have been displaced from central and eastern Khan Yunis between Monday and Thursday, and hundreds are “stranded in eastern Khan Yunis.”
The Israeli military on Monday ordered the evacuation of parts of the southern city, announcing its forces would “forcefully operate” there, including in an area previously declared a safe humanitarian zone.
On Wednesday, Israel said five bodies of captives seized during Hamas’s October 7 attack that triggered the war had been recovered from the area.
Israel’s military said on Friday that its forces had “eliminated approximately 100 terrorists” in the city this week.
Israel’s military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said the captives’ bodies were pulled from underground tunnels and walls in “a hidden place.”
Troops “were near those fallen bodies in the past, we did not know how to reach them” until this week, Halevi said in a statement.
Witnesses and rescuers said heavy battles continued around eastern Khan Yunis on Friday. The Nasser Hospital said 26 bodies were brought to the medical site.
The October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 111 are still held in the Gaza Strip, including 39 the military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 39,175 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
According to UN figures, the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.4 million people have been displaced at least once by the fighting.
 

 


Gaza mediators, Israel spy chief to meet in Rome: Egypt media

Gaza mediators, Israel spy chief to meet in Rome: Egypt media
Updated 27 July 2024
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Gaza mediators, Israel spy chief to meet in Rome: Egypt media

Gaza mediators, Israel spy chief to meet in Rome: Egypt media
  • Cairo would also like to see a “complete (Israeli) withdrawal from the Rafah crossing” connecting Gaza to Egypt, the official added

CAIRO: Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators are to meet with Israeli negotiators in the Italian capital Sunday in the latest push for a Gaza truce, Egyptian state-linked media said.
“A four-way meeting between Egyptian officials and their American and Qatari counterparts, in the presence of Israel’s intelligence chief, will be held in Rome on Sunday to reach an agreement on a truce in Gaza,” Al-Qahera news, which has links to Egyptian intelligence, reported on Friday, citing a “senior official” who was not identified.
Egypt, along with Qatar and the United States, has been involved in months of mediation efforts aimed at ending the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Gaza Strip for more than nine months.
The proposed truce deal would be linked to the release of hostages held by Gaza militants in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
US news outlet Axios separately reported that CIA Director Bill Burns is expected to hold talks on the issue in Rome on Sunday with Israeli, Qatari and Egyptian officials.
The official quoted by Al-Qahera News said Egypt insists on “an immediate ceasefire” as part of the agreement, which should also “ensure the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza” and “safeguard the freedom of movement” of civilians in the Palestinian territory.
Cairo would also like to see a “complete (Israeli) withdrawal from the Rafah crossing” connecting Gaza to Egypt, the official added.
Recent mediation efforts have focused on a framework which US President Joe Biden presented in late May, billing it an Israeli proposal.
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress, pleading for continued US support, before meeting with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee in the US presidential election later this year, said after the meeting she would not be “silent” on the suffering in Gaza and that it was time to end the “devastating” conflict.
The Gaza war began after Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 111 are still held in the Gaza Strip, including 39 the military says are dead.
Israel launched a retaliatory campaign against Gaza rulers Hamas, killing at least 39,175 people in the territory, according to its health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.