2023-10-09 00:46:02
After the major attack on Israel by the Islamist Hamas, Israel’s army says it is continuing to attack the group’s positions in the Gaza Strip. The military said on Sunday evening that warplanes had fired on targets belonging to Hamas, which rules in the coastal enclave. A command center was also hit. Numerous members of the UN Security Council condemned the massive attack at an emergency meeting on Sunday in New York.
However, the response was not unanimous, as US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood emphasized after the meeting. “There are a number of countries that have condemned the Hamas attacks. But obviously not all of them,” said Wood, without naming states.
The USA had previously called on the UN Security Council for a united response against the Hamas attack on Israel. According to diplomatic sources, the Security Council did not consider a joint declaration, let alone a binding resolution. Some Russian-led members hoped for a broader focus than condemning Hamas. “My message was to immediately end the fighting and move to a ceasefire and meaningful negotiations, as has been announced for decades,” said Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzia.
China, generally an ally of Russia in the Security Council, had shown itself open to a non-binding statement. It was unusual for the Security Council to say nothing, said China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun after the meeting. He had previously emphasized that China condemned “all attacks on civilians.” At the same time, he called for peace negotiations with the aim of a two-state solution.
According to the government in Washington, US citizens were also killed in the major attack. A spokesman for the US National Security Council confirmed the deaths of “several US citizens” on Sunday (local time) and expressed his condolences to the victims and their families. He did not give any further details.
In total, more than a thousand deaths were reported in Israel and the Gaza Strip by Sunday evening. There were also several foreigners among them, including ten people from Nepal, two Ukrainians and a French woman.
As a result of the major attack, the US government announced deliveries of ammunition to the Israeli army and increased its military presence in the region. In a phone call, US President Joe Biden assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US stands “firmly and irrevocably” on the side of its ally Israel.
Hamas condemns the deployment of US warships and fighter jets to the region and the supply of US ammunition to Israel. The US announcement represents “actual participation in the aggression against our people,” says Hamas spokesman Hazem Kassem. The group will not allow itself to be intimidated.
The Islamist Hamas launched surprise rocket attacks against Israel from Gaza on Saturday morning. At the same time, armed Palestinians advanced into Israel by land, sea and air and attacked people in several towns near the border. According to the latest figures from Sunday evening, at least 700 people in Israel were killed in the major attack. Israel launched counterattacks. At least 413 people were killed, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. Hamas fired several rockets towards Israel again on Sunday evening.
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