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Israel bombs Gaza as US threatens to block new UN resolution

Israel bombs Gaza as US threatens to block new UN ceasefire resolution
World
16 min read
18 February, 2024
The UN Security Council is likely to vote on Tuesday for the 15-member body to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire as the US signals veto.

This live blog on day 135 of Israel's war on Gaza has concluded. Make sure to follow us for the latest news on FacebookX, and Instagram.

Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 18 people overnight and into Sunday, according to medics and witnesses, as the United States said it would veto another draft UN ceasefire resolution.

The US, Israel's top ally, instead hopes to broker a ceasefire agreement and hostage release between Israel and Hamas and envisions a wider resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed back, calling Hamas' demands "delusional" and rejecting US and international calls for a pathway to Palestinian statehood.

Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive until "total victory" over Hamas and to expand it to Gaza's Rafah, where more than half the enclave's population of 2.3 million Palestinians have sought refuge from fighting elsewhere.

An airstrike in Rafah overnight killed six people, including a woman and three children, and another strike killed five men in the southern city of Khan Younis, the main target of the offensive over the past two months.