International
Russia and China veto the first resolution in which the US called for a ceasefire in Gaza
Russia and China vetoed this Friday the first UN Security Council resolution in which the United States called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, after almost six months of war that has cost the lives of 32,000 people.
The resolution was also rejected by Algeria, while Guyana abstained and the other eleven countries voted in favor.
Nine votes in favor are enough to approve a resolution, but the negative votes of two countries with the right to veto (in this case Russia and China) prevented its approval.
It is the fourth time that a Member State has vetoed a resolution in this regard. On the previous three occasions the United States did so, arguing in those cases that Israel’s right to defend itself was not included and they actually allowed the rearmament and reorganization of Hamas.
The resolution rejected today, which had been negotiated for a month and required at least six drafts, was rejected for its ambiguous vocabulary, because, in the words of the Russian ambassador, Vasily Nebenzia, prior to the vote, he considered that it did not clearly call for a ceasefire, but was limited to considering “an immediate and sustained ceasefire imperative to protect the civilians of both sides.”
Nebenzia said that the resolution presented by the United States. The United States was “a hypocritical initiative designed to disorient the international community,” he regretted that Russian proposals to amend the text have been systematically rejected by Washginton and also considered that the text voted today “in fact assumes the green light for Israel to carry out a military operation in Rafah.”
As for Algeria’s ambassador, Amar Bendjama, he said that his rejection not only represented his country, but “the entire Arab world,” and stated that the text of the U.S. resolution. The United States on Gaza “does not convey a clear message of peace, but tacitly allows civilian victims to continue (falling) and lacks safeguards for a future escalation” of the conflict.
The Chinese ambassador, Zhang Jun, also considered the text voted today “ambiguous”, because “it does not clearly call for a ceasefire” and because it “deviates from the consensus of the members of the Council and is far from the expectations of the international community,” in addition to setting conditions for that ceasefire.
At this time, another resolution is being negotiated at the same time in the Security Council with a clearer language on the ceasefire, and while Russia and China have said that it will support that other resolution, it remains to be seen what the attitude of the United States will be, which could veto it.
At the same time, the United States sponsors other indirect negotiations in Doha (Qatar) between Hamas and Israel with a view to an exchange of prisoners between the two parties and an eventual truce.
Also yesterday, the European Union called for an “immediate humanitarian break” that “leads to a sustainable ceasefire,” the first common position in this regard in the European club, where Israel has solid allies such as Germany or the Netherlands.
All this political and diplomatic activity has intensified after a dramatic UN report was announced on Monday that assured that 1.1 million people in Gaza are about to enter “catastrophic food insecurity,” the most serious degree of famine.
International
Pope Francis meets former Gaza hostages
Pope Francis met on Thursday at the Vatican with 16 Israelis who had been held hostage in Gaza for months by the Islamist group Hamas, according to the official Vatican news website.
The group consisted of ten women, four men, and two children, as reported by the same source. Several of the former hostages showed the Argentine pontiff banners or photos of their loved ones who remain in captivity.
Francis had previously met with the families of hostages in April this year and November 2023, but this was the first time he had met with individuals who had personally endured captivity.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began, the pope has repeatedly called for the immediate release of Israeli hostages, while also condemning the suffering of the Palestinian population.
The war erupted on October 7, 2023, when Islamist militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,206 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures that include hostages who died in captivity.
Of the kidnapped, 97 are still being held in Gaza, but the Israeli military estimates that 34 of them have died.
The military offensive launched by Israel in response has killed at least 43,736 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, according to data from the Ministry of Health in the Hamas-governed territory.
International
Israeli airstrikes on Damascus kill 15 and injure 16, including women and children
Israeli forces carried out airstrikes on residential buildings in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and its surroundings on Thursday, resulting in at least 15 deaths and 16 injuries, according to Syria’s Ministry of Defense and state television.
The ministry stated that around 3:20 p.m. local time (12:20 GMT), the Israeli military launched an aerial attack from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights, targeting several residential buildings in the Mazzeh neighborhood in western Damascus and the Qudsaya suburb to the northwest of the capital.
The airstrikes “resulted in the death of 15 people and injuries to 16 others, including women and children,” based on initial estimates, in addition to significant damage to private property and civilian buildings, the ministry added.
Meanwhile, state television reported Israeli airstrikes on three buildings in Mazzeh and another on a building in an educational complex located in a residential area of Qudsaya.
Following the strikes, loud explosions were heard throughout the city, and thick plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the targeted locations. Ambulances and emergency services rushed to the scene to attend to the victims.
International
Drug trafficker dies after boat collision with Guardia Civil Vessel in Sanlúca
Three people were on the boat that collided with a Guardia Civil vessel around midnight at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, near the Andalusian city of Cádiz, a spokesperson for the Civil Guard reported.
Two officers sustained “contusions,” the spokesperson explained.
The drug traffickers managed to bring the boat to shore, where one of them was “abandoned” severely injured. The other two fled.
The Civil Guard officers attempted to resuscitate the victim before transporting him to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, but he ultimately died early in the morning.
The other two suspects took advantage of the officers’ absence while they were taking the victim and returned to set their boat on fire.
The collision occurred very close to the site of another accident on September 1, where a drug trafficker died following a Guardia Civil pursuit.
The suspects’ boat traveled “400 meters” before crashing head-on and “at full speed” into the riverbank, where a hundred bundles of hashish were found.
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