The UN Security Council will continue to respond to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis

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Before the UN Security Council meeting on Sunday after the next night of fighting, international efforts to mitigate the escalation of the largest military confrontation between Israeli and Palestinian militants in seven years have been intensified.

The Security Council, chaired by China, is scheduled to meet in New York later on Sunday.

Two Western diplomats told the Financial Times that the United Nations, Egypt and Qatar are negotiating a brief ceasefire to fuel Gaza’s only power plant entering the Mediterranean region, which has been blocked by Israel since 2007. Israeli officials estimate that the Gaza Strip, where 2 million people live, will run out of fuel by Monday at the latest.

An aide to the Israeli government told the Financial Times that the Israeli security cabinet is also scheduled to meet on Sunday to discuss the long-term armistice proposed by Hamas. The military hopes that the Palestinian group will return the bodies of two soldiers. The aide said that the fate of the other two Israeli civilians detained in Gaza was also at risk.

Meanwhile, the bombing lasted for the seventh day. The Israeli military said it had attacked the houses of Hamas leader Yahyeh Sinwar and his brother. Sinwar was released from an Israeli prison in 2011 during an exchange of prisoners and has since risen to the top of the leadership of Hamas. An Israeli official called him “the biggest threat.”

Hamas launched rockets in Tel Aviv at midnight on Saturday and in towns near the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning.

Health officials in Gaza said the death toll in Gaza was 181 deaths, including 83 women and children.

Local Israeli doctors said that Israel has reported 10 deaths, including 2 children.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday night: “We are still carrying out this operation. The operation is not over yet. This operation will continue as long as it is necessary.”

Netanyahu defended the largest military operation against Hamas since the 2014 Israeli war with the Islamic organization, which was a “war of justice and morality.” He added: “We are doing everything we can, but in order to avoid or limit as much harm as possible to civilians.”

Israel’s remarks came after Israel destroyed the al-Jalaa residence and office building that hosted the Associated Press of the U.S. News Agency and the Al Jazeera TV station of Qatar. According to the White House, U.S. President Joe Biden said in a call to Netanyahu on Saturday that the bombing caused “concerns about the safety and security of journalists” and “reinforces the need to ensure their protection.”

“In recent years… the UN Security Council resolutions have not been implemented seriously, especially the Palestinians’ right to establish an independent state has been violated.” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi quoted Chinese official media as saying.

Hamas launched about 2,500 rockets into the depths of Israel © Getty Images

It was relatively quiet in the occupied West Bank until the Israeli security forces killed 11 Palestinians on Friday, and Arab demonstrators burned tires and threw Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers during night protests. Two Palestinians were killed overnight, including the Israeli army shooting in the abdomen.

Since the 1967 war, Israel has been occupying the territory. It is home to the Palestinian faction Fatah, Hamas’ opponent, and has approximately 650,000 Jewish settlers, including at least 200,000 in East Jerusalem.

Israel also tried to quell Jewish and Arab riots across the country, arresting nearly 900 people.

Israeli Arabs make up about one-fifth of the population of the Jewish state, carry an Israeli passport and have the right to vote. But they say they suffer discrimination and are the target of right-wing Israeli politicians.

On Sunday, a man walked past a destroyed building in a badly damaged residential area in Gaza City

On Sunday, a man walked past a destroyed building in a heavily damaged residential area of ​​Gaza City. ©AFP via Getty Images

After weeks of tension in Jerusalem and its surrounding areas, the crisis broke out. At that time, the police used rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades against Palestinian demonstrators in the compound of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. More than 600 Palestinians were injured.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque is located in a complex where both religions are sacred. The complex is called “Haram ash-Sharif” (Haram ash-Sharif) or sanctuary of nobles by Muslims, and “Sanctuary” by Jews. mountain”.

Hamas entered the battlefield on Monday, launched rockets at Israel, and demanded that Jewish settlers in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem stop harassing Arab residents who are awaiting expulsion orders from Israeli courts.

Additional reporting by Katrina Manson in Washington and Primrose Riordan in Hong Kong

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