Fighting in the war-torn Gaza Strip has entered its 20th day after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel that Israeli officials said killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians.
Since the October 7 attack, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry has claimed that more than 7,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's relentless retaliatory bombardment, mostly civilians and many of them children.
Here are five key developments from the past 24 hours:
- The EU calls for a "pause" -
EU leaders have called for "humanitarian corridors and pausing" to ensure aid access to Gaza, but the bloc has not heeded UN demands for a "ceasefire".
The 27-nation bloc has long been divided between more pro-Palestinian members such as Ireland and Spain and staunch supporters of Israel, including Germany and Austria.
There was strong condemnation of the Hamas attack, but after five hours of talks there was not as much consensus on demanding an end to Israel's retaliatory bombing.
The bloc nevertheless called for "an international peace conference soon" to discuss attempts to find a two-states lasting solution.
- Attack in Gaza, strikes in Lebanon -
Israel's military said troops entered Gaza overnight with tanks and infantry in a "targeted raid," striking "numerous terrorist cells, infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch sites" before withdrawing on home soil. Late Wednesday Israeli planes also struck Lebanon in response to the launch of a surface-to-air missile, the military said. Israeli airstrikes continue in the Gaza Strip, and Palestinians also shell Israeli territory.
The UN warned that "nowhere is safe" in Gaza as Israel stepped up its bombardment in preparation for a widely expected ground offensive.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned in Cairo on Wednesday that a "large-scale" Israeli operation in Gaza, which is endangering civilian lives, "does not contribute to Israel's long-term defense" and risks violating international law.
His Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, also urged Israel to "avoid a ground invasion."
Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki condemned Israel's offensive in Gaza as a "war of revenge" a day after meeting members of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
- Shortage of aid to Gaza -
Israel has cut off normal corridors to supply Gaza with water, food and other essential goods, and fewer than 70 aid trucks have entered the impoverished territory since the start of the war.
The United Nations says 12 of the territory's 35 hospitals are closed due to damage or insufficient fuel, and its Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said it "has begun to significantly curtail its operations."
According to Mohammed Abu Selmeya, head of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, more than 90% of the stockpiles and supplies of medicines have been exhausted.
It comes as the death toll rises, with Gaza's health ministry reporting almost 500 more deaths in a single day on Thursday.
- Divisions in the Security Council -
The UN Security Council has again failed to act on the war between Israel and Hamas, with Russia and China vetoing a US-led draft resolution and the text proposed by Moscow failing to gain enough support.
The US proposal supported "humanitarian pauses" without calling for a full ceasefire, while Russia's sought "an immediate, permanent and fully respected humanitarian ceasefire".
Meanwhile, US lawmakers passed a resolution expressing solidarity with Israel in its war with Hamas, in their first act since electing a new speaker of the Republican-led House of Representatives.
- Meeting of EU leaders -
On Thursday, European Union leaders were due to discuss calls for a humanitarian "pause" in the war, with the bloc's 27 countries divided between more pro-Palestinian members such as Ireland and Spain and staunch supporters of Israel such as Germany and Austria./BGNES
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