UN Security Council rejects Russia's resolution on Gaza

The UN official website reports.

Five Security Council members voted in favor of the Russian draft with the required minimum of nine votes. Four countries were against, and six abstained.

The document was supported by Russia, China, the UAE, Gabon and Mozambique. The United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Japan were against it. Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Malta, Switzerland, and Malta abstained.

The draft resolution called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and condemned all violence and acts of terrorism against civilians, but did not mention terrorist groups.

 The war in Israel

On the morning of Saturday, October 7, 2023, the Palestinian armed groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad launched a massive air and land attack on the state of Israel in several places. The head of the Hamas military wing, Mohammed Deif, said that his militants had launched the Al-Aqsa Flood operation. According to him, these actions are intended to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

The Palestinians launched 2,000 to 3,000 missiles at Israel and simultaneously seized 7 communities in the south.

In response, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced the mobilization of reservists and the launch of the Iron Swords counterterrorism operation. For the first time in 50 years, the government introduced martial law in the country. 

The IDF actively used aviation to strike Palestinian command posts. It has also begun clearing Hamas-occupied communities.

In addition, there is a great threat that the Shiite Hezbollah could attack Israel from the north, as its main partner and supplier, the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), has called on jihadists to "liberate Jerusalem."

On the morning of October 8, the Saudi television channel Al Arabiya published the losses of both Palestinians and Israelis during the first day of the renewed military conflict. According to the channel, Israel lost 300 people killed and at least 1,600 wounded. The number of casualties from the Palestinian-populated Gaza Strip is 232 killed and 1,627 wounded. 

On October 8, Israeli troops claimed that Lebanon had attacked their territory, so the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) attacked in response. In particular, Israeli aviation struck a complex belonging to the head of Hamas' intelligence.

Militants of the Lebanese military-political organization Hezbollah fired at Israeli positions on the border with the disputed Golan Heights and supported Hamas in its operation against Israel.

Due to the situation in the Middle East, the UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting. However, no action or decisions were taken after it. At the same time, the UK government stated that it would support Israel in its fight against terrorists and was ready to provide it with all necessary assistance.

On the afternoon of October 9, the Israeli army regained control of all areas on the border with the Gaza Strip. At this, it is possible that there are still Hamas militants on Israeli territory.

The leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy issued a joint statement expressing their united support for Israel and condemning Hamas' actions.

On Thursday, October 12, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv and met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At the same time, after almost a week of IDF strikes on the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian militants Hamas are based, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that this was only the beginning.

On the morning of Sunday, October 15, the pro-Iranian Shiite group from Lebanon, Hezbollah, launched a rocket attack on the IDF base of Al-Raheb on the Israeli-Lebanese border.

For the first time in history, an entire city has been evacuated in Israel. Deputy Mayor Elad Kalimi said that almost two-thirds of the population had already left the city, and several thousand more would do so in the near future.

On October 17, local media reported that humanitarian aid convoys were moving from Egypt to the border with Gaza.

Antony Blinken reported that US President Joe Biden would visit Israel and Jordan on Wednesday, October 18. At the time, Biden said that Israel must destroy the Hamas terrorist group, but the Palestinian state and government must be preserved.