WASHINGTON: The United States expressed optimism that the UN Security Council would soon finalise a resolution to support an international stabilisation force in Gaza.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the UN resolution would be crucial to ensuring humanitarian access and maintaining the fragile ceasefire in the Palestinian territory.
“We feel optimistic that it’s going to happen,” Rubio told reporters after a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Canada.
“I think we’re making good progress on the language of the resolution, and hopefully we’ll have action on it very soon.”
He added that Washington was consulting with other countries on how to balance interests beyond the deployment of the force.
Rubio also expressed concern that violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank could undermine efforts to maintain the ceasefire in Gaza.
“There is certainly some concern that events in the West Bank could have repercussions that could undermine what we are doing in Gaza,” he said. “We don’t expect that to happen, and we will do everything we can to ensure that it doesn’t.”
Turkiye and other international actors continue to push for a stabilisation force with a UN mandate.
Settler violence in West Bank
Dozens of masked illegal Israeli settlers launched arson attacks on Palestinian industrial and agricultural facilities east of Tulkarem, causing large fires and injuring several people.
Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir condemned the violence, saying the military “will not tolerate criminal behaviour by a small minority that tarnishes the law-abiding public.” Israeli President Isaac Herzog also called on authorities to act decisively.
Human rights groups and the UN have noted that such attacks often occur in a “permissive environment,” sometimes with support from Israeli officials or soldiers.
Calls for lasting ceasefire guarantees
Turkiye’s Defence Ministry said its main expectation from a proposed international stabilisation force is to ensure the ceasefire holds.
Ankara has criticised Israel’s two-year military campaign in Gaza and seeks a role in the force despite Israeli objections. The ministry also called for unhindered humanitarian aid deliveries in line with international law.
US intelligence on human shields
According to two former US officials, US intelligence last year revealed that Israeli officials discussed sending Palestinians into Gaza tunnels believed to contain explosives.
The intelligence was shared with the White House and analysed by the intelligence community in the final weeks of former president Joe Biden’s administration. International law prohibits the use of civilians as shields during military operations.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s health system remains under severe strain. Thousands of patients have waited weeks for urgent treatment due to the destruction of hospitals and shortages of staff, medicine, and fuel. Only half of the territory’s 36 hospitals are partially operational.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have warned that millions face famine in Gaza and other crisis regions, with only $10.5 billion of the estimated $29 billion in humanitarian aid delivered so far.
Meanwhile, Israel has reopened the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza to allow aid trucks in, after it had been closed since September 12.
Ceasefire violations and building destruction
Despite the ceasefire since October 10, Israel has carried out nearly daily attacks in Gaza.
According to Gaza authorities, Israel violated the ceasefire at least 282 times between October 10 and November 10. Israeli airstrikes and artillery have destroyed over 1,500 buildings.
Satellite imagery analysed by BBC Verify shows extensive demolitions in Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Rafah, including homes, gardens, and orchards. Experts warn that such destruction could violate international law and jeopardise the ceasefire.
Hamas, Islamic Jihad to hand over hostage body
Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad are returning bodies of Israeli captives under the US-brokered ceasefire.
As of Wednesday, 25 of the 28 captives’ bodies have been handed over. In exchange, Israel has freed 250 Palestinian prisoners and returned the remains of 315 Palestinians from Gaza.
Hamas said al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, will hand over one more Israeli captive’s body at 8:00pm Gaza time (18:00 GMT).
Hamas said in a statement published on Telegram that the body was found today in the Morag area, north of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Since the October 7, 2023, Israeli military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 69,000 Palestinians and injured more than 170,000 others, according to the health ministry.
