The Bottom Line
- This Saturday marks the 65th day of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
- The IDF continues to attack the Gaza Strip from all directions, after taking the town of Khan Younis, where it is hunting down the Hamas leader.
- Hamas' Health Ministry reported 17,487 deaths.
- Macron and Netanyahu spoke on the phone. The French president insisted on the opening of a second "crossing point" to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
- Hamas' violence does not justify the "collective punishment" of Palestinians, the UN chief said Friday, pointing to a "spiralling humanitarian nightmare" for Gazans.
- A majority of UN Security Council members supported his call for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" but the US vetoed it.
07:47
Israel thanks the United States
Israel's representative to the United Nations on Friday thanked US President Joe Biden for his "firmness" at Israel's side, after the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli media reported.
07:31
Hamas condemns US veto
Washington's decision to oppose the UN Security Council resolution for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza is "unethical and inhumane," Hamas strongly condemned. The U.S. obstruction of the adoption of a ceasefire resolution is direct participation in the occupation to kill our people and commit more massacres and ethnic cleansing," Ezzat El-Reshiq, a member of the group's political bureau, said late at night.
07:25
Eleven dead in southern Gaza
An Israeli strike on the town of Khan Younis killed six people, while five others died in another attack in Rafah, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said. The latest death toll in Gaza stands at 17,487 people, civilians and fighters combined.
07:20
"At every meal, there's an empty chair"
Relatives of four Israeli hostages were present in Paris on Friday to warn of their fate, as fighting has resumed in the Gaza Strip since December 1 and the end of the truce. An exhausting wait for these brothers and sisters who are moving heaven and earth for their liberation.
07:15
Macron calls on Netanyahu to open a second access for aid to Gaza
In a telephone conversation, Macron "recalled the need to protect Gaza's civilians and stressed the importance of reaching a lasting ceasefire," the Elysée Palace said.
07:10
Veto!
The U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. Thirteen of the fifteen members voted in favour of the draft resolution submitted by the United Arab Emirates, while Britain abstained. "We do not support this resolution's call for an unsustainable ceasefire that will only sow the seeds of the next war," said Robert Wood, deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
07:00
Hello everyone
Welcome to this live coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas.