"Given the gravity of the situation and the potential of an escalation in the West Bank and regionally, it is imperative for us to hold a serious debate on the war during the upcoming European Council that will take place on December 14 and 15," the leaders stressed.
Crossing in and out of Gaza: Sixty-one trucks loaded with humanitarian aid entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing on Monday, according to an Egyptian official. Israeli authorities have also said they will start conducting security screenings at the Kerem Shalom and Nitzana Crossings.
https://crowdin.com/project/ssn/discussions/2 CNN cannot independently confirm the number of dead and wounded in Gaza, but on Sunday the Israel Defense Forces said it had struck more than 22,000 targets in Gaza since October 7. Israeli strikes have so far killed about 17,700 Palestinians in Gaza from October 7 through December 9, according to a report published by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah on Sunday. The report cites medical sources from the Hamas-controlled enclave. At least 70% of those killed in Gaza were women, children and the elderly, the report said. The Nitzana crossing is nearly 50 kilometers (more than 31 miles) from Rafah. The Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Spanish President Pedro Sanchez, Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo described the death toll, the destruction and the humanitarian situation brought about by the war in Gaza as "alarming." Since the start of the war, families of the missing Americans have had opportunities to speak or meet with President Biden, his national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Vice President Kamala Harris. His death on Thursday sparked tributes from friends, colleagues and students across the globe.
https://bsky.app/profile/cheonanop.bsky.social After formal hostage negotiations that had been taking place in Doha, Qatar, fell apart, the Biden administration continues to be in close contact with their Israeli, Qatari and Egyptian counterparts about ways to get more hostages out, according to officials. "These are dark hours for millions of people in Palestine and Israel. Across Europe anti-Semitic incidents have resurged and this cannot be tolerated. It is time for the European Union to act," they said. "We are writing to you in view of the step taken by United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, invoking Article 99 of the United Nations Charter for the United Nations Security Council to address urgently the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza," the leaders said in the opening paragraph of their letter. Israel’s military has a significant presence in Gaza's largest refugee camp where heavy fighting and dozens of casualties have been reported, the director general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza told CNN.
