UN warns of humanitarian crisis in Gaza - more than 20 countries in favor of military alliance in the Red Sea

War in the Middle East - UN warns of humanitarian crisis in Gaza - more than 20 countries in favor of military alliance in the Red Sea

In view of the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian situation in the sealed-off coastal strip is becoming increasingly catastrophic. Due to the "globally unprecedented" situation, the United Nations is warning that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians could die of starvation. "I have never seen anything like it. The scale of the acute food insecurity is unprecedented in terms of severity, speed of deterioration and complexity," said World Food Program (WFP) spokesperson Shaza Moghraby.

A resolution by the UN Security Council to alleviate the humanitarian suffering in the Gaza Strip is still a long time coming. There has been disagreement for days over the wording of such a declaration. A vote has been postponed several times due to the threat of a US veto.

Humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip worsens

A new study by several UN agencies and other institutions published on Thursday concludes that 577,000 people in the sealed-off coastal strip fall into the most serious category of hunger. In the rest of the world combined, there are currently 129,000 people who are similarly threatened, according to the analysis. The people at risk of "catastrophic" hunger are more than a quarter of the over two million people in the area. Almost all inhabitants are affected by hunger or displacement.

The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel's history, carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups in Israel on October 7. Israel responded with massive air strikes and began a ground offensive at the end of October. In view of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the sealed-off coastal area, Israel had recently come under increasing international pressure. According to Islamist Hamas, at least 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war.

More than 20 countries in favor of protecting the Red Sea

According to the USA, more than 20 countries have so far declared their willingness to participate in the military alliance to protect ships in the Red Sea in the face of attacks by Houthi rebels. Since the announcement of "Operation Prosperity Guardian", Australia and Greece have also announced their participation, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said at a press conference on Thursday (local time). He emphasized that the alliance was open to other countries. However, it was up to them to speak publicly about their participation.

The crucial point is that this is an international problem that requires an international response. "So we will continue to work with this coalition of the willing, and all countries will be able to contribute what they think they can," added the Ministry of Defense spokesperson. In some cases, this will include ships. In other cases, it could be personnel or other types of support.

The US officially launched the new alliance earlier this week to better protect the important shipping route through the Red Sea that leads to the Suez Canal. The US military is to cooperate even better with the armed forces of other countries in the region.

The Houthi rebels, supported by Israel's arch-enemy Iran, have been attacking Israel with drones and missiles since the outbreak of the Gaza war and attacking ships in the Red Sea to prevent them from sailing towards Israel. Major shipping companies are increasingly avoiding the route through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, through which around ten percent of all global trade passes.

According to the US, the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and the Seychelles are also participating in the alliance. Germany is examining its participation. According to its own statements, Spain only wants to participate as part of an EU or NATO mission.

After days of wrangling in the UN Security Council over a resolution to alleviate the humanitarian suffering in the Gaza Strip, a vote was also postponed once again. Several countries had to consult with their governments after fundamental changes were made to a compromise draft, it was reported on Thursday. The text, which is available to Deutsche Presse-Agentur, calls on Israel to "immediately allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access" to the Gaza Strip. The conditions for a sustainable cessation of violence must also be created.

Ongoing rocket fire from the Gaza Strip

Despite the Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, which have been sharply criticized internationally due to the civilian casualties, Hamas is still firing rockets. On Thursday, muffled explosions could be heard in the metropolis of Tel Aviv. The armed arm of the Islamist Hamas organization, the Kassam Brigades, spoke in a statement of a "reaction to the Zionist massacres of civilians" in the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli media, the ongoing shelling is also due to the large number of launch sites in the Gaza Strip. According to estimates by the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Hamas' rocket arsenal comprised around 20,000 projectiles. According to Israeli figures, around 12,500 rockets have been fired at the Jewish state since the start of the war.

Israel rejects the administration of the Gaza Strip by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank after the end of the war. Everyone in the world wants this, but it is impossible as long as the Palestinian Authority incites people to hate Israelis and educates children to kill Israelis, said a senior representative of the Israeli government. The USA, on the other hand, sees Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' rather moderate Palestinian Authority, in contrast to the Islamist Hamas, as playing a central role in the post-war period. However, Abbas, who has been in office for 18 years, is very unpopular with the Palestinians. Hamas, on the other hand, has become increasingly popular in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war.

Israeli army claims control over Hamas stronghold of Shejaiya

According to the Israeli armed forces, they have established "operational control" over the Gaza district of Shejaiya, which is considered a Hamas stronghold. "Troops will continue to carry out limited operations in the neighborhood to destroy remaining Hamas infrastructure and kill militants who are hiding," the military said in a statement. Shejaiya in the north of the coastal strip was until recently the scene of fierce fighting between Israeli soldiers and terrorists from the Islamist Hamas. At the end of last week, the military accidentally shot dead three Israeli hostages who had escaped from their kidnappers.

After difficult negotiations, the compromise proposal for a Gaza resolution could now come to a vote in the UN Security Council on Friday. On the controversial issue of how to monitor aid shipments, the Council members finally reached a compromise: a newly appointed UN coordinator is to monitor international aid shipments. Following the major concessions made by the negotiators, the US ambassador to the UN announced that she would refrain from vetoing a vote.