Israel-Gaza war: US condemns ‘cynical’ Russia and China veto of ceasefire deal; Israel to go into Rafah ‘with or without US support’ – as it happened

Here’s a recap of the latest developments:

• At least 32,070 Palestinians have been killed and 74,298 have been injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, according to the latest figures from Gaza’s health ministry on Friday.

• A US resolution urging a ceasefire in Gaza linked to a hostage deal has been vetoed by Russia and China in the UN security council. Eleven council members voted for the resolution on Friday morning; Russia, China and Algeria voted against it and Guyana abstained. As permanent security council members the Russian and Chinese votes counted as vetoes. The US’s critics, including Russia, noted the text did not explicitly use the word “call” in terms of a ceasefire. It also implied the ceasefire would be conditional on the release of all hostages.

• The UN security council is expected to vote on Saturday on a new draft resolution that seeks an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, according to reports. The vote on the resolution, expected at 10am local time (1400 GMT), “demands an immediate ceasefire” for the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan that leads “to a permanent sustainable ceasefire” respected by all sides, AFP reported, citing diplomatic sources.

• The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has said an Israeli offensive into the southern Gaza town of Rafah would risk “further isolating” Israel and damage its long-term security. Speaking as he left Israel on a short visit during his sixth Middle East trip since the start of the war, Blinken told reporters he had “candid conversations” with officials including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior ministers.

• The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel remained determined to send troops into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians are sheltering, and would do so without US backing if necessary. “I told him that I hope we would do this with US support but if necessary – we will do it alone,” Netanyahu said after his meeting with US secretary of state Antony Blinken.

• The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, said there was no way for civilians to escape the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to send troops as Washington presses for more humanitarian aid. “There is nowhere for these people to go and be safe,” Harris told reporters on Friday.

• The leaders of Ireland, Spain, Malta and Slovenia have agreed to take the first steps towards recognising a Palestinian state. The prime ministers of the four countries released a joint statement indicating their “readiness to recognise Palestine and said that we would do so when it can make a positive contribution and the circumstances are right.”

• The UK home secretary, David Cameron, has accused Israel of demanding the closure of a key aid crossing into Gaza, in a clash with a British-born government spokesperson that has reportedly resulted in the official’s suspension. The spokesperson, Eylon Levy, whom Israeli media reported as having been suspended, had tweeted Lord Cameron suggesting Israel was not placing any obstacles in the delivery of aid.

• The Israeli military’s spokesperson said its forces have detained hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, including a number of security officials and military commanders, during its extended raid into Gaza’s main hospital. Hamas and medical staff deny that the hospital is used for military purposes or to shelter fighters. In recent days, Hamas spokespeople have said that the dead announced in previous Israeli statements were not fighters but patients and displaced people and have accused Israel of war crimes.

• Palestine has condemned Israel’s declaration that an 800 hectare (1,977 acres) section of the Israeli-occupied West Bank is state land. The Israeli government announced Friday it was confiscating the land in the occupied West Bank, which activists called the largest such seizure in decades. The Palestinian ministry of foreign affairs said the latest move was “a continuation of the extermination and displacement of our people from their homeland.

• People living in Gaza are facing exorbitant food prices as more than 1 million residents of the Palestinian territory face famine. Aid officials have referred to Israel’s siege of Gaza as “man-made starvation”, with the territory facing the threat of mass deaths from famine in the coming weeks. Children are already dying from hunger. But an Israeli official on Friday denied that people in Gaza are suffering from starvation.

• Hundreds of worshippers were “blocked” from reaching the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem by Israeli forces on Friday, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Al Aqsa, Islam’s third-holiest shrine, is a focus of Palestinian statehood hopes and is also revered by Jews as vestige of their two ancient temples. Israeli controls on access have often stoked political friction, especially during Ramadan.

• The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (Unrwa) has welcomed Finland’s decision to resume funding to the agency. All Nordic countries are now supporting Unrwa, Philippe Lazzarini said, in addition to Canada and Australia, while several Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia have increased funding. Portugal also said it would give €10m ($10.89m/£8.6m) to Unrwa as a one-off contribution intended to provide food, medicine, and humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

The UN security council is expected to vote on Saturday on a new draft resolution that seeks an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, according to reports.

The vote on the resolution, led in part by Algeria, the Arab nation currently on the 15-member Security Council, is expected at 10am local time (1400 GMT), AFP reported, citing diplomatic sources.

Three European nations – Malta, Slovenia and Switzerland – are co-sponsoring the resolution, along with Mozambique, Guyana and Sierra Leone.

The draft resolution, seen by AFP, “demands an immediate ceasefire” for the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan that leads “to a permanent sustainable ceasefire” respected by all sides. It also demands both the “immediate and unconditional” release of hostages seized in the 7 October attack by Hamas and humanitarian access in the battered Gaza Strip.

The US has indicated it may veto the new draft resolution, it writes.

The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (Unrwa) has welcomed the news that Finland will resume funding to the agency.

Finland was one of 16 major donors that suspended payments after Israel accused a dozen Unrwa of involvement in the 7 October Hamas attack. The UN agency denies the charge and says no substantial evidence has been provided to support the allegation.

Finland’s decision today means that all Nordic countries are now supporting Unrwa, its head Philippe Lazzarini wrote on social media.

Countries including Canada, Australia and Sweden have also restored funding to Unrwa, while several Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia have increased funding.

22 Mar 202413.03 EDT

What happens now the UN resolution has been defeated?

Patrick Wintour

A rival draft resolution favoured by African states has been circulating that is more explicit about an immediate ceasefire, but this will not be put to the vote on Friday.

France’s ambassador to the UN, Nicolas de Rivière, has said an alternative draft championed by the non-permanent members of the security council, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Ramadan, “will come to the table and put to the vote”. He said:

We need a ceasefire and then talks.

But such are the entrenched divisions in the security council that this resolutionis also likely to be killed – this time by a US veto, potentially the fourth of this conflict. For many observers the episode will confirm that the security council is simply broken.

We reported earlier that the leaders of Ireland, Spain, Malta and Slovenia have agreed to take the first steps towards recognising a Palestinian state. We now have a joint statement from the prime ministers of the four countries.

The statement says that the prime ministers met in the margins of the European Council to share views on the situation in Gaza and the Middle East, and that they are agreed on the “urgent need for an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of hostages and a rapid, massive and sustained increase of humanitarian aid into Gaza.” The statement continues:

We are agreed that the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in the region is through implementation of a two-state solution, with Israeli and Palestinian States living side-by-side, in peace and security.

We discussed together our readiness to recognise Palestine and said that we would do so when it can make a positive contribution and the circumstances are right.

Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has posted about his meeting with US secretary of state Antony Blinken in Tel Aviv, saying he “conveyed the imperative of completing the mission in Gaza, including Rafah”.

Gantz, a key political rival of Benjamin Netanyahu, said he reiterated his “profound appreciation” for the US’s continued support for Israel during their meeting.

An Israeli official has denied that people in Gaza are suffering from starvation, despite aid groups warning that virtually every resident in the Palestinian territory is struggling to get enough food.

Aid officials have referred to Israel’s siege of Gaza as “man-made starvation”, with the territory facing the threat of mass deaths from famine in the coming weeks. Children are already dying from hunger.

But Col Moshe Tetro, the head of the Israeli army unit responsible for the delivery of humanitarian aid, told reporters at Gate 96, a new entry point for delivering supplies to the northern area:

As much as we know, by our analysis, there is no starvation in Gaza. There is a sufficient amount of food entering Gaza every day.

Tetro claimed Israel was “doing everything we can to enlarge the capacity of humanitarian aid going into Gaza,” instead blaming “bottlenecks” on international aid groups which he said lacked capacity to distribute supplies inside the territory.

View image in fullscreen

ActionAid has described the failure of the US resolution urging a ceasefire in Gaza at the UN security council as a disappointment, and urged countries to “stop playing politics with people’s lives”.

In a statement, the organisation said:

It is disappointing to see the UN security council yet again fail to take seriously its mandate to maintain peace and promote human rights by refusing to come together and determine that an immediate, unconditional ceasefire is imperative, when we know this is desperately needed to put an end to almost six months of bloodshed in Gaza.

With children already dying of hunger and experts warning that famine is imminent in North and Gaza Governorates, where 70% of people are experiencing catastrophic hunger, all efforts must continue to secure an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. It is the only way to stop the devastating death toll climbing any higher and ensure enough life-saving aid can be safely and effectively delivered at scale. It’s time to stop playing politics with people’s lives, the people of Gaza can’t afford to wait any longer.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said his discussions with Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his war cabinet today focused on three things: the hostage negotiations, humanitarian assistance, and Rafah.

Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv.:

There were important, candid conversations to have at a critical time.

The US state department has released a readout of the meeting between its secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his war cabinet in Tel Aviv.

Blinken briefed Israel’s war cabinet members on “his consultations in Jeddah and Cairo about efforts to achieve lasting peace and security for Israel, the Palestinian people, and the broader region,” state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

Blinken “reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security and the lasting defeat of Hamas, including in Rafah,” and discussed efforts to reach an agreement for a ceasefire to allow for the release of hostages and enable “a surge in humanitarian assistance,” he said, adding:

Secretary Blinken emphasized the need to protect civilians in Gaza and increase and sustain humanitarian assistance, including through both land and sea routes.

View image in fullscreen

Asked what the US was trying to achieve with draft resolution that was put forward at the UN earlier today, Antony Blinken said the resolution received “very strong” support but was “cynically vetoed” by Russia and China.

The US secretary of state said the US was trying to show the international community “a sense of urgency” about getting a ceasefire.