UN warns of Gaza famine risk as Security Council resolution faces vote

The UN warned the Israel-Hamas war was pushing Gaza towards famine, ahead of an expected Security Council vote on Friday on a resolution to boost aid to the Palestinian territory but not call for a ceasefire.

Separate diplomatic efforts were also under way for a fresh pause in the worst-ever Gaza war, which was triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel in October.

With conditions deteriorating in the territory, the UN Security Council has been locked in negotiations on a resolution that would boost aid deliveries.

The latest draft calls for "urgent steps to immediately allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access", and also for "creating the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities." It does not call for an immediate end to fighting.

Backed by its ally the U.S., Israel has opposed the term "ceasefire." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there would be no ceasefire in Gaza until the "elimination" of Hamas.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the UN, said Washington would support the resolution if it "is put forward as is.”

The war began on October 7 after Hamas militants broke through Gaza's militarized border and killed around 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures. Hamas also abducted about 250 people.

With Israel continuing its bombardment of targets in Gaza, the territory's Hamas government on Friday said 20,047, mostly women and children, had been killed.

The entire population of Gaza faces "an imminent risk of famine", according to a UN-backed global hunger monitoring system on Thursday, with more than half a million people facing "catastrophic conditions.”

"We have been warning for weeks that, with such deprivation and destruction, each day that goes by will only bring more hunger, disease and despair to the people of Gaza," said UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths.

The UN estimates 1.9 million Gazans are now displaced, out of a population of 2.4 million.

With their homes destroyed, they are living in crowded shelters and struggling to find food, fuel, water and medical supplies. Diseases are spreading, and communications have been repeatedly cut. Displaced Gazans are desperate for a ceasefire.

After weeks of pressure, Israel approved the temporary reopening of the Kerem Shalom crossing on Friday to enable aid deliveries directly to Gaza, rather than through the Rafah crossing from Egypt. On Thursday, an Israeli strike hit the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom, the crossings authority and the Hamas health ministry said.

The UN secretary-general's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, was "unable to receive aid trucks" via Kerem Shalom following the "drone strike" and that the World Food Programme had suspended operations at the crossing.

READ MORE:

Israel faces global pressure for a ceasefire as UN prepares to vote

How is Europe dealing with bird flu outbreaks?

Serbia's Vucic claims victory but opposition rejects election results

Dujarric's comments came after Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Israel could enable as many as "400 trucks a day" of aid and blamed the UN for failing to bring more. According to the UN, the number of aid trucks entering Gaza is well below the daily pre-war average.

UK foreign secretary David Cameron, speaking in Egypt, said: "Everything that can be done must be done to get aid into Gaza." French President Emmanuel Macron has been in Jordan to discuss joint work on humanitarian and medical aid with King Abdullah II for Gaza's civilians.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using schools, mosques, hospitals and vast tunnel systems beneath them as military bases - charges the group denies. On Thursday, military spokesman Daniel Hagari said Israeli troops have killed more than 2,000 Palestinian militants since a one-week ceasefire ended on December 1.

Israel has been under increasing pressure from allies, including the U.S., which provides it with billions of dollars in military aid, to protect civilians.

Qatar, backed by Egypt and the U.S., last month helped broker a week-long truce that saw 105 hostages released, including 80 Israelis, in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Hopes that Israel and Hamas could be inching towards another truce and deal to free the remaining 129 hostages rose this week as the head of the Palestinian militant group visited Egypt and talks took place in Europe. However, the stated positions of Israel and Hamas remain far apart.

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday