UN safety council approves decision demanding finish to Purple Sea assaults
The UN safety council has simply voted to approve a decision drafted by the US and Japan to demand an finish to assaults on business transport within the Purple Sea by Houthi rebels.
The council voted down proposed amendments from Russia that might have weakened the decision.
The vote handed with 11 votes in favour, zero objections and 4 abstentions, together with Russia, China and Algeria.
Key occasions
Reuters is reporting some preliminary response from the Houthis to the UN safety council vote.
The safety council has voted to approve a decision drafted by the US and Japan to demand an finish to assaults on business transport within the Purple Sea by Houthi rebels.
The Houthi spokesperson in Yemen, Mohammed Abdul Salam, has described the decision as a “political sport”.
The spokesperson has accused the US of violating worldwide legislation, as a substitute.
Reged Ahmad right here selecting up the weblog from Richard Luscombe
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has posted on X a thread which incorporates his views about the way forward for Gaza.
He says:
I wish to make just a few factors completely clear: Israel has no intention of completely occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian inhabitants. Israel is combating Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian inhabitants, and we’re doing so in full compliance with worldwide legislation.
The feedback come because the worldwide court docket of justice case towards Israel is about to get below method on Thursday.
Learn the remainder of Netanyahu’s thread right here:
“I wish to make just a few factors completely clear:
Israel has no intention of completely occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian inhabitants.
Israel is combating Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian inhabitants, and we’re doing so in full compliance with worldwide legislation. pic.twitter.com/amxFaMnS0P— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 10, 2024
Abstract of the day:
It’s 1:08am on Thursday in Gaza Metropolis, Tel Aviv and Beirut. Right here’s the place issues stand within the Center East disaster:
-
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has condemned assaults on business transport within the Purple Sea as “reckless and harmful” throughout a gathering with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Manama, the penultimate cease of the diplomat’s whistle cease Center East tour. Earlier on Wednesday he met the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, within the West Financial institution, the place they mentioned “ongoing efforts to minimise civilian hurt in Gaza, speed up the supply of humanitarian help, finish extremist violence, and work in direction of an unbiased Palestinian state”.
-
The UN safety council has voted to approve a decision drafted by the US and Japan to demand an finish to assaults on business transport within the Purple Sea by Houthi rebels. The council voted down proposed amendments from Russia that might have weakened the decision. The vote handed with 11 votes in favour, zero objections and 4 abstentions, together with Russia, China and Algeria.
-
Pramila Patten, the United Nations particular consultant on sexual violence, will go to Israel this month to have a look at allegations of rape and different sexual offences dedicated by Hamas fighters on and after 7 October. Patten has been granted investigative authority by Israel’s overseas ministry that may enable her to talk with survivors and launched Israeli hostages who have been raped or sexually assaulted. Her workplace portrayed the go to as an “data gathering mission”.
-
The Israeli Protection Forces chief of employees mentioned no village in Lebanon was out of the army’s attain, after an escalation in violence between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group primarily based there. Herzi Halevi informed a gathering of troopers in Gaza that their actions within the besieged Palestinian territory had satisfied him that they might take the struggle into Lebanese territory if wanted, AFP reported.
-
The World Well being Group (WHO) director common, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, mentioned there have been practically “insurmountable obstacles” to delivering humanitarian help to the Gaza Strip, saying the state of affairs was “indescribable”. He mentioned six deliberate missions to northern Gaza had been cancelled as a result of Israel had rejected requests and never given assurances of secure passage, including {that a} mission deliberate for at present additionally needed to be cancelled.
-
The British protection secretary, Grant Shapps, hinted there may very well be additional western army motion towards the Houthis in Yemen, telling reporters to “watch this house” when requested about attainable additional motion after final night time’s drone assault within the Purple Sea.
-
Britain warned of extreme penalties after US and UK warships have been pressured to repel a barrage of 20 Houthi rockets, drones and cruise missiles fired at ships within the Purple Sea. American and British forces say they shot down 18 drones and three missiles on Tuesday. The Italian protection minister, Guido Crosetto, has mentioned that Yemen’s Houthi assaults on Purple Sea transport have to be stopped with out triggering a brand new conflict.
-
A complete of 23,357 Palestinians have been killed and 59,410 have been injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza well being ministry mentioned. The ministry, which is run by Hamas, mentioned 147 Palestinians have been killed and 243 injured prior to now 24 hours. About 1.9 million folks, or practically 85% of the entire inhabitants of Gaza, are estimated to have been displaced from their houses. Solely 15 out of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially purposeful. 300 and thirty Palestinians have additionally been killed within the Israeli-occupied West Financial institution over the identical interval, together with 84 kids, and practically 4,000 folks have been injured by Israeli safety forces throughout that point.
-
The IDF introduced the demise of one other member of Israel’s troops inside Gaza, taking the entire toll of the bottom offensive to 186. The Israeli army has mentioned that 1,065 of its troopers have been injured in Gaza. Israel launched its army marketing campaign after the 7 October shock Hamas assault throughout which about 1,200 folks have been killed. An estimated 240 folks have been seized as hostages. About 130 are nonetheless believed to be in captivity. It has not been attainable for journalists to independently confirm the casualty counts being issued throughout the battle.
-
Israel’s army claims to have “uncovered greater than 15 underground tunnel shafts within the space” of Maghazi in central Gaza, the place it says that its troops directed airstrikes that killed “a number of terrorists”. In Khan Younis, it claims that “in battles within the space during the last day, dozens of terrorist operatives have been killed by IDF troops”, including that “a complete of roughly 150 terror targets have been struck by IDF troops during the last day”. The claims haven’t been independently verified.
-
Israel’s army has additionally mentioned that it’s has once more struck at what it described as Hezbollah terrorist targets inside southern Lebanon.
-
The Palestinian information company Wafa reported Israel detained an additional 26 Palestinians within the Israeli-occupied West Financial institution. It brings the entire variety of detainees since 7 October to greater than 5,780.
-
Israeli politician Nissim Vaturi reiterated his name for Gaza to be burned down, saying “there are not any innocents there”. Referring to Palestinians nonetheless in northern Gaza after repeated orders from the Israeli army for them to flee, Vaturi mentioned: “100 thousand stay. I’ve no mercy for individuals who are nonetheless there. We have to eradicate them.” The feedback got here forward of a listening to on Thursday on the worldwide court docket of justice, the place South Africa has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.
Barbara Woodward, the UK ambassador to the UN, welcomed the passing of the decision. She mentioned:
The UK condemns within the strongest phrases the unlawful and unjustified assaults within the Purple Sea by Houthi militants. Yesterday, the Houthis tried their largest assault but, launching at the very least 21 missiles and drones in direction of worldwide transport lanes.
Fifteen p.c of all international seaborne commerce passes via the Purple Sea. These assaults threatened to spike the provision and costs of meals and power, which might inevitably hit the world’s poorest, the toughest. Yesterday’s was the twenty sixth such assault because the nineteenth of November.
This was regardless of the council’s demand on the primary of December for the Houthis to cease all such assaults instantly. On 3 January, the UK joined 11 international locations in a press release warning towards additional assaults.
So we’re utilizing all diplomatic means attainable to discourage these assaults. And that’s the reason we voted in favor of this decision.
Here are details of the decision simply handed by the UN safety council demanding an finish to assaults on Purple Sea transport, courtesy of the unbiased safety council report.
It says language particularly referencing Gaza that Algeria and Russia apparently proposed was not accommodated, and the draft decision was up to date to emphasise the necessity to tackle “the foundation causes, together with the conflicts contributing to regional tensions and the disruption of maritime safety”.
Russia and Algeria have been two of the abstentions within the safety council vote.
UN safety council approves decision demanding finish to Purple Sea assaults
The UN safety council has simply voted to approve a decision drafted by the US and Japan to demand an finish to assaults on business transport within the Purple Sea by Houthi rebels.
The council voted down proposed amendments from Russia that might have weakened the decision.
The vote handed with 11 votes in favour, zero objections and 4 abstentions, together with Russia, China and Algeria.
Blinken: Purple Sea assaults ‘reckless and harmful’
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has informed King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain that Houthi assaults within the Purple Sea are “reckless and harmful” throughout the newest stopover on the senior diplomat’s whistle-stop tour of the Center East.
The 2 met in Manama on Wednesday night, the place they mentioned the assaults on business transport and “reaffirmed their shared dedication to worldwide legislation and freedom of navigation”, in response to a state division readout.
Blinken expanded on the difficulty in feedback throughout a press availability following the assembly:
We all know all in regards to the hostages in Gaza; nicely, the Houthis have taken greater than 25 hostages from the ships that they’ve seized since this fall. So all of this has required us – this problem, this risk to the pursuits of nations all over the world, has required us to reply.
We put collectively Operation Prosperity Guardian with greater than 20 international locations, together with Bahrain, to do every part we are able to to protect freedom of navigation, freedom of transport within the Purple Sea.
A UN safety vote was anticipated afterward Wednesday on a US-drafted decision demanding an finish to the Purple Sea assaults. As of 5pm ET, there was no indication of what time the vote may happen.
Earlier on Wednesday, Blinken met the Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas within the West Financial institution, the place he restated the US dedication to a Palestinian state.
Blinken will wrap up his journey in Egypt on Thursday. He visited Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the West Financial institution earlier than his penultimate stopover in Bahrain.
Learn our earlier report on Blinken’s travels by the Guardian’s Jason Burke and Sufian Taha:
Two movies from the West Financial institution exhibiting Israeli troops capturing a 17-year-old boy and safety forces repeatedly operating over the physique of a person that they had shot have added to considerations in regards to the Israeli army’s guidelines of engagement, the Guardian’s Emma Graham-Harrison experiences from Jerusalem.
The capturing of 17-year-old Osaid Rimawi within the early hours of final Friday is proven in footage from a safety digital camera in a neighborhood store that was obtained by the Related Press information company. The video additionally reveals two earlier rounds of gunfire that injured two unarmed males. Rimawi was killed when he tried to hurry to their help.
The one weapons seen within the footage are weapons held by Israeli troopers. Troopers gathered around the lifeless and injured our bodies; one prodded Rimawi along with his foot, then drove away. They didn’t make any arrests.
The Israeli army mentioned troops in Beit Rima had opened hearth on suspects who had thrown explosives and firebombs, AP reported. Native residents mentioned the killings have been unprovoked, and nobody had thrown explosives.
The Israeli army has repeatedly been accused of utilizing lethal violence with out provocation. Many of the victims have been Palestinians, however they embody three Israeli hostages, who have been killed after they escaped Hamas captivity in December. They have been bare-chested, waving white flags and at the very least one was shouting in Hebrew.
Earlier this week, footage from Gaza emerged that appeared to indicate a sniper killing a lady as she led a column of civilians attempting to succeed in a secure zone in November. She was waving a white flag and strolling beside a younger baby.
Learn the total story right here:
The pinnacle of the World Well being Group (WHO) has posted to Twitter/X a robust video message urging Israel to permit it to ship humanitarian help in Gaza.
“Delivering humanitarian help in Gaza continues to face practically insurmountable challenges. Now we have the provides, the groups and the plans in place. What we don’t have is entry,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director-general, mentioned within the message posted Wednesday afternoon.
“We name on Israel to approve requests by WHO and different companions to ship humanitarian help.”
Delivering humanitarian help in #Gaza continues to face practically insurmountable challenges.
Now we have the provides, the groups and the plans in place. What we don’t have is entry.
We name on #Israel to approve requests by @WHO and different companions to ship humanitarian help. pic.twitter.com/nM6cTNbVGB
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) January 10, 2024
Listed here are extra of pictures from the Center East disaster, despatched to us over the information wires on Wednesday:
