Israeli troops continue their assault on southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, with the Israel-Hamas war now in its tenth week
- There are reports of house-to-house fighting in the city; most of the population has fled to coastal areas or further south to Rafah
- On Friday night, the US blocked a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire
- The UN chief said Gaza was at breaking point - but the US called the resolution "imbalanced" and unrealistic, though urged Israel to do more to protect civilians
- Also on Friday, Israel said two soldiers had been severely wounded in a failed attempt to rescue a hostage seized by Hamas.
- Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages, some of whom were released during a short-lived truce
- Hamas officials in Gaza say Israel has killed more than 17,177 people in its retaliatory campaign, including about 7,000 children.
Following the vote in the UN Security Council, Israel now has more time to continue its military operation in Gaza - and whether it’s a month, or three months or more, I think judging at the pace things are going, Israel may well struggle to achieve its military objectives.
It will be messy. There won’t be an easy end. There won’t be a moment when Israel says it’s time to go home and rebuild, which is the kind of thing that happened before in the wars between Hamas and Israel. This is of a totally different order of magnitude. That’s why the future is unknown territory for everyone involved in this.
Hamas is continuing to fire rockets into Israeli areas, but also fighting Israeli troops street by street in Gaza, inflicting casualties. Israel has tremendous military power. In a 24-hour period this week, it says it hit Gaza 450 times by land, sea and air - and that is an enormous amount of power and destruction. But what it has not so far done is show it can break Hamas as a military organisation with a military chain of command.
Then, perhaps, Israeli could claim victory. But right now, Hamas is still fighting in an organised way, which will dismay those Israelis who want this to be over and done with.
And an issue Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is going to have, is that they have set a very high bar for victory – annihilate Hamas. Not just as a military organisation, but as a group that has a political role as well. Since those ideas are pretty much embedded among some Palestinians, that might be pretty much impossible.
Let's bring you some more insight on what's happening on the ground in Gaza from a doctor working in the territory with medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (commonly known as Doctors Without Borders).
Mohammad Abu Mughaiseb reflected on the start of Israel's ground operation in the south of the territory, and said the fighting was "more intense" a week after the seven-day ceasefire ended last Friday.
"MSF activity stopped almost all (work in) Gaza," he told the BBC World Service's Newshour programme earlier. "In the south, we stopped because of the security.
"Hospitals in the north and Gaza City stopped totally. What is still functioning is in the south - hospitals - but they are crowded (and used as) shelters as well."
Medics were operating on "patients lying on the ground", he added. "It's the catastrophe of the century."
Israel has been under pressure to do more to protect civilians in Gaza as it continues with its offensive against Hamas. Even its main ally, the US, says there is a “gap” in what the Israeli authorities say and what they are doing - in the words of Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Still, the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire last night, supporting the Israeli view that a pause now would only benefit Hamas. Thirteen other members of the council backed the resolution, while the UK abstained in the vote - proof of growing international concerns about the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the UN, said the vote meant that “millions of Palestinian lives hang in the balance” - a position shared by aid groups who have repeatedly warned of an unfolding catastrophe.
The entire territory, under constant bombardment, is suffering with widespread shortages of food, water and medicine. Overwhelmed hospitals are unable to treat everyone, and shelters cannot cope with tens of thousands of displaced residents, many on the move not for the first time.
The limited amount of basic supplies being allowed into Gaza means that humanitarian assistance in the territory has virtually stopped, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Israel says it has taken measures to protect civilians, and accuses Hamas of using the population of human shields. As the fighting continues, more people will get killed, and the suffering of those who survive will only get worse. For the US, it may be a matter of time before calls for a ceasefire become too loud to be ignored.
Ceasefire calls may get too loud for US to ignore
FULL REPORTS AND MORE DETAILS AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67653615
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