2023-12-22 14:28:00
Ahead of UN Security Council vote, Israel says it is expanding military operation in Gaza
DEIR AL BALAH, GAZA – DECEMBER 20: Smoke rises from a point hit during Israeli attacks in Deir al Balah, Gaza on December 20, 2023. (Photo by Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images).
Israel said Friday it is expanding its military operation in Gaza as the United States has signaled its willingness to support a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a halt to fighting and increased aid to the besieged enclave.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Friday ordered residents of the Al-Bureij refugee camp in Deir al-Balah and other areas in central Gaza to move to shelters for safety, signaling a new approach of the ground offensive.
Until now, the military incursion had largely focused on northern Gaza and parts of the southern side of the city.
Israeli military officials stated that they believe they are close to defeating Hamas militants in Jabalya and the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, the last remaining Hamas strongholds in the north.
Shortly after Friday’s warning, an Israeli airstrike hit the Al-Bureij refugee camp, a hospital spokesman said.
At least three people were killed and 10 others injured after the attack hit the camp, Dr. Khalil Al Daqran, spokesperson for Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, told CNN.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council is expected to hold its long-delayed vote on Gaza this Friday, after US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said she was willing to support a resolution. which called for increased aid to Gaza.
According to the source, the draft speaks of “urgent measures to immediately allow safe and unhindered access for humanitarian aid, as well as to create the necessary conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.”
The language of now says “urgent measures to immediately enable safe and unimpeded humanitarian access, and also to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities,” according to the source.
This in the context of the fact that the death toll in Gaza has reached approximately 20,000 since October 7, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah said on Thursday.
The risk of famine in the Palestinian enclave increases every day hostilities persist, a U.N.-backed food security agency warned, while the World Health Organization said there are no functioning hospitals in northern Gaza and the entire system strip’s health care system is “in danger.”
With previous reporting by CNN’s Michael Rios, Priscilla Alvarez, DJ Judd and Alex Marquardt.
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