The number of Palestinians killed in the 20-month war between Israel and Hamas has exceeded 55,000, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Wednesday, while local hospitals said at least 21 people were killed on their way to humanitarian aid distribution points.
The circumstances surrounding the deaths reported near these distribution points remain unclear. The Israeli army said on Wednesday that warning shots had been fired in central Gaza at “suspicious individuals” who posed a threat to soldiers.
According to the ministry, 55,104 people have been killed and 127,394 wounded since the start of the war. Many more are believed to be buried under rubble or in areas inaccessible to local medics.
UN General Assembly adopts Gaza ceasefire resolution
Meanwhile, the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, according to the organisation’s website.
149 countries voted in favour of the resolution. Twelve countries voted against it. Nineteen countries abstained.
“Although Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, they carry political and moral weight,” the statement said.
Israeli soldiers oppose the government
The Israeli government is issuing “clearly illegal” orders that should not be carried out, a group of Israeli military intelligence officers said, announcing that they would no longer participate in combat operations in Gaza.
In a letter addressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Kats and the chief of the general staff, a group of 41 officers and reservists said the government was waging an “unnecessary war” in Gaza.
The letter comes amid growing dissent within parts of the Israeli armed forces over the continuation of the war in Gaza and an increasing number of soldiers refusing to fight.
In April, 250 reservists and graduates of “Unit 8200” demanded that the government end the war, although they did not call for a general refusal to serve. One Israeli intelligence officer who recently refused to serve said that he and his colleagues could no longer participate in a war in which the military “does not think twice” about harming civilians when bombing targets in Gaza.
