Two mothers 'killed every hour' in Gaza, says UN as Biden claims Palestinian state still possible

Israel ratcheted up its attacks in the south of the Gaza Strip on Saturday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden discussed plans for a post-war future for Palestinians, with suggestions of a rift between the two allies.

That was after the Palestinian Red Crescent on Friday accused Israel of firing at a hospital in Khan Younis, as a major advance in the main city in the southern Gaza Strip threatened the few healthcare facilities still open. The Red Crescent said displaced people were injured "due to intense gunfire from the Israeli drones targeting citizens at Al-Amal Hospital" as well as the rescue agency's base.

Nearby in the same city, Israeli tanks were also approaching Gaza's biggest remaining functioning hospital, Nasser, where people reported hearing shellfire from the west. Residents also reported fierce gun battles to the south.

Israel has launched a major new advance in Khan Younis this week to capture the city, which it claims is now the primary base of Hamas, whose fighters attacked Israel on October 7, triggering Israel's devastating war on the Gaza Strip.

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The Gaza health ministry said on Saturday that Israeli attacks had killed 165 Palestinians and wounded 280 more in the past 24 hours. That takes the total death toll in Gaza to 24,927, with nearly 62,400 wounded since October 7.

The World Health Organization says most of the enclave's 36 hospitals have stopped working. Only 15 are partially functioning and those are operating at up to three times their capacity, without adequate fuel or medical supplies, it says. Israeli officials have accused Hamas fighters of operating from hospitals, including Nasser, which staff deny.

More than 1.7 million people - around 75 percent of Gaza's population - are estimated to be displaced, many forced to move repeatedly, according to UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) figures. Many have sought refuge in tents that do little to protect them from the elements and disease.

A new report from UN Women has found that approximately 16,000 women and children have been killed in Israel's war on Hamas, estimating that two mothers were losing their lives every hour. 

Of Gaza's 2.3 million population, 1.9 million were displaced and "close to one million are women and girls" seeking shelter and safety, said UN Women. "These women and girls are deprived of safety, medicine, healthcare, and shelter. They face imminent starvation and famine. Most of all they are deprived of hope and justice.

"However much we mourn the situation of the women and girls of Gaza today, we will mourn further tomorrow without unrestricted humanitarian assistance and an end to the destruction and killing," said UN Women's executive director, Sima Bahous.

Netanyahu rejects Palestinian state

Biden and Netanyahu held their first call since December 23 a day after the Israeli leader reiterated his rejection of any form of Palestinian sovereignty, deepening divisions with Israel's key backer over the war.

Netanyahu has said Israel expects its war on Gaza to continue for months, but his comments on Thursday rejecting a so-called two-state solution suggested a rift with key backer the U.S. Biden said after Friday's call with Netanyahu, it was possible the Israeli leader might still come around.

"There are a number of types of two-state solutions. There are a number of countries that are members of the UN that... don't have their own militaries," Biden said. "I think there are ways in which this could work."

Netanyahu said on Thursday Israel "must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River," which "clashes with the principle of sovereignty, but what can you do?" A day earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said in Davos that Israel could not achieve "genuine security" without a "pathway to a Palestinian state".

Washington has yet to apply enough pressure on its ally to persuade them to alleviate the plight of Gaza's civilian population, deprived since October of regular aid and adequate medical care. Israel says it will fight on until Hamas is eradicated, an aim Palestinians call unachievable because of the group's structure and deep roots in an enclave it has run since 2007.

Biden's strong support so far for Israel has created friction with some members of his own Democratic party who are concerned over the war's steep toll on Palestinian civilians. Dozens of Biden's fellow Democrats signed a letter on Friday urging his administration to reaffirm that the U.S. strongly opposes "the forced and permanent displacement" of Palestinians from Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Russian foreign ministry said on Friday it had received a delegation from Hamas and had urged it to release the hostages, including three Russian nationals. Hamas said both sides emphasized the importance of reaching a ceasefire.

U.S. launches fresh attacks on Houthis

The Gaza war has spilled into the surrounding region, with Iran-aligned groups carrying out attacks and regular exchanges of cross-border fire between Israeli forces and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.

Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank have also surged, with troops and settlers killing more than 360 people, wounding more than 4,212, and detaining more than 6,100 since October 7, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Over in the Red Sea, the U.S. announced it had shot more missiles into Yemeni aerospace, striking three Houthi anti-ship missiles.

The incident is the latest example of growing tensions in the Red Sea which have disrupted global trade as attacks by Houthi fighters on ships in the area - in solidarity with Palestinians under Israel's siege and a defacto blockade - have slowed trade between Asia and Europe and alarmed major powers in an escalation of the war on Gaza.

The U.S. has been launching strikes against the Houthi, who control the most populous part of Yemen, and this week returned the group to a list of "terrorist" groups. Biden said on Thursday that air strikes would continue even as he acknowledged they may not be halting the Houthi attacks

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