
Flames and smoke were seen over the Israel-Gaza border in the early hours of Sunday morning. Israel ordered residents to leave central Gaza and struck the length of the enclave overnight after the United States used its veto in the UN Security Council to protect its ally from calling for a ceasefire.
The US vetoes the resolution for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza
Israel said it has killed at least 7,000 Hamas militants. The official death toll in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave, exceeded 17,700 on Saturday, with thousands missing and presumed dead under the rubble.
The ministry says that about 40% of the victims are children. Israel began its campaign to eliminate Gaza's Hamas rulers after the October 7 attack, which killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages, according to Israeli data.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has evaluated as correct the veto of the United States of America to the UN resolution.
"I appreciate very much the correct position that the US took in the UN Security Council. Other countries must understand that it is impossible to support the elimination of Hamas on the one hand and on the other hand to call for the cessation of war, which would prevent the elimination of Hamas. Therefore, Israel will continue its just war to eradicate it and to achieve the other goals of the war that we have set out."
Meanwhile, speaking at the opening ceremony of the Doha Forum in Qatar, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also said that the humanitarian situation across the Strip is becoming more dire.
"We are facing a great risk of the collapse of the humanitarian system. The situation is rapidly deteriorating into a catastrophe with possibly irreversible implications for the Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region," Guterres said.
Washington has urged Israel to do more to protect civilians, but still maintains its view that the ceasefire would benefit Hamas.