A picture taken in Gaza City shows debris from destroyed buildings and smoke billowing in the background during Israeli bombardment on February 20, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Doha, Qatar: The State of Qatar expressed its regret at the overturn of a draft resolution submitted by the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria on behalf of Arab countries to the Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that the State of Qatar will continue its efforts in cooperation with regional and international partners to achieve an immediate ceasefire, protect civilians, facilitate the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid to all areas of the Gaza Strip, as well as work to prevent the spread of war in the region.
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[8:30 pm Doha Time] Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 67 Palestinians overnight and into Wednesday, including in areas where civilians have been told to seek refuge. AFP photo shows a Palestinian man mourning over the body of a loved one at Rafah's Al-Najjar hospital on February 21, 2024.
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights announced that one of its lawyers, Nour Abo Nour, was killed last night along with seven of her family members, including her two-year-old daughter, in an Israeli attack on her home in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.
[3pm Doha Time] Situation at Nasser Medical Complex ‘unbearable’
Gaza’s Ministry of Health spokesman, Dr Ashraf Al-Qudra, has just shared the following updates:
- The situation at Nasser Medical Complex is unbearable and poses a real danger to the lives of staff and patients.
- Medical teams are unable to provide care to patients due to a lack of oxygen and medical supplies.
- While 45 patients were transferred to other hospitals, Israeli forces are delaying the evacuation of another 110.
- Water and oxygen were cut off as a result of the electrical generator stopping.
- Tonnes of medical and non-medical waste have accumulated in the corridors and courtyards.
- Sewage water is flooding the emergency and radiology departments.
A handout photograph taken on February 18, 2024 by the World Health Organization (WHO), shows a convoy of ambulances during a WHO, UN humanitarian agency OCHA and Palestinian Red Crescent mission to evacuate patients from Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis. (Photo by Christopher Black / WHO / AFP)
[1pm Doha Time] Famine inevitable if things don’t change: WFP
The World Food Programme’s (WFP) chief said that a famine in Gaza may happen if things do not change.
“A famine doesn’t have to happen. But if things don’t change, it will,” Cindy McCain said in a post on X.
The WFP announced that it had to pause the delivery of aid in northern Gaza due to unsafe conditions, making the hundreds of thousands of people there more at risk of starvation.
[11:25am Doha Time] Gazan shares misery at being forced to flee without belongings
Many people in the Gaza Strip are forced to walk barefoot or in worn-out shoes as a result of the devastation and poverty exacerbated by the war. Some were forced to flee in a hurry, leaving their home with just the clothes they were wearing.
Al Jazeera shared the story of a husband and wife taking turns wearing the same worn-out shoes.
“This is my husband’s sandals. We alternate. Whoever is out puts them on,” the woman said.
“I cannot even find a second-hand pair of shoes. I cannot afford to feed my child, let alone buy shoes,” she added. “We ran for our lives and all our possessions, if not destroyed, were left behind. Now, [we are] displaced in the south, empty-handed.”
A cobbler in the Strip said that at the beginning of the war, people in Gaza still had some money for shoe repairs. Now, people have run out of all means, and he can’t find materials to fix any orders he does get.
“It is a plight. A misery,” he said.
[11am Doha Time] China says US veto in UN truce vote makes Gaza 'even more dangerous'
China warned Wednesday that a US decision to veto a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza pushed the conflict into an "even more dangerous" situation.
"China voted in favour of the draft resolution," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular briefing on Wednesday.
"The United States has once again single-handedly vetoed it, pushing the situation in Gaza into an even more dangerous situation, in which all parties concerned... have expressed their strong disappointment and dissatisfaction," she added.
"The humanitarian situation in Gaza is becoming extremely serious, and regional peace and stability have been severely impacted," Mao said. Read more
[10am Doha Time] Muslim World League expresses regret at overturn of draft resolution calling for ceasefire in Gaza
The Muslim World League (MWL) expressed its discontent and regret at the overturn of the draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, which was submitted by the Republic of Algeria at the Security Council, with the aim of protecting the lives and property of the Palestinian people inGaza.
In a statement by the General Secretariat of the Muslim World League, the Secretary-General of the MWL Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa reiterated his call on the international community to assume its responsibilities towards protecting civilians, maintaining international peace and security, and ending the humanitarian disaster and the barbaric war in Gaza, which is a flagrant violation of all its laws and customs. It also threatens, with its barbarism, and tampers in the confidence in its system and cohesion.
The United Nations Security Council once again failed to adopt a draft resolution calling for an immediate cessation of Israeli aggression on the GazaStrip after the United States used its veto.
[9am Doha Time] Dozens Palestinians martyred in new massacres
Dozens of Palestinians were martyred and wounded last night in new massacres committed by the Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip
At least eight citizens, including children, were martyred and others injured in Israeli airstrikes targeting a house in Jenin neighborhood east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian news agency, citing local sources.
The occupation aircraft targeted agricultural land in Al-Salam neighborhood east of Rafah, coinciding with intensive flights over Rafah governorate.
In Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, six Palestinians were martyred and others wounded when the occupation tanks targeted the displaced in the Al-Mawasi area.
In a related context, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that ambulance teams completed the mission of evacuating two martyrs and eight injured individuals from the Doctors Without Borders headquarters on Rashid Street, west of Khan Yunis governorate. The mission was carried out in coordination with and accompanied by a team from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). They were transported to the International Medical Corps field hospital in Rafah.
Two Palestinians were also injured, one seriously, in an Israeli airstrike targeting the vicinity of Muad bin Jabal Mosque in the new camp west of Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip. They were transferred to Al Awda Health Center.
The number of martyrs in the Nuseirat camp and the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip has risen to 34 due to the continuous Israeli raids since yesterday.
Earlier, dozens of civilians were martyred and others were injured in Israeli strikes targeting several civilian homes in the Zeitoun, southeast of Gaza City.
