Israel-Hamas war day 68: World calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza; US warns Israel is losing support. 10 updates

It has been more than two months since the war in Gaza but the situation remains extremely disturbing as Israel is adamant in destroying every single Hamas militant from the region. The massive attacks by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in Hamas-ruled Gaza have led to mass casualties of thousands of civilians. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, the war has brought unprecedented death and destruction, with much of northern Gaza obliterated, and more than 18,000 Palestinians killed.

Here are the top-10 updates on the Israel-Hamas war:

• The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to demand a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. 15 nations supported ceasefire, 10 against and 23 abstentions in the UNGA. The United States and Israel were joined in opposing the resolution by eight countries — Austria, Czechia, Guatemala, Liberia, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, and Paraguay.

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• India, Canada, Albania, Australia, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Iraq, Japan, Latvia, Monaco, North Macedonia, Philippines, Poland, South Korea, Moldova, San Marino, Serbia, Sweden, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Zambia were among the countries that favoured ceasefire in the UN GA.

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• The Palestinian foreign minister has accused Israel of starving Gaza, a charge swiftly rejected by an Israeli official. The UN World Food Programme says half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million is starving.
• US President Joe Biden declined to directly answer a question on reports that Israel was pumping seawater into Hamas' Gaza tunnel complex, referring only to assertions that there were no hostages in the areas targeted. The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had recently begun pumping seawater into Hamas' vast labyrinth of tunnels underneath Gaza, in a process that would likely take weeks.

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• Biden has warned that Israel was losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza. The president also renewed his warnings that Israel should not make the same mistakes of overreaction that the US did following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
• Hamas welcomed the United Nations' demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and urged the international community to continue pressuring Israel to abide by the resolution.
• Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Israel, Bahrain, and Qatar next week as the US continues to press allies to commit to an international maritime task force to protect commercial ships in the Red Sea as those ships have come under increased attacks.
• The World Bank on Tuesday announced that it would provide $20 million in new emergency relief for the people of Gaza as part of an overall $35 million package of support. The bank says this includes $10 million in new financing for food vouchers and parcels, which is expected to reach an estimated 377,000 people. The assistance will be delivered through the World Food Program.

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• The Israeli army announced on Tuesday that they had retrieved the bodies of two hostages from Gaza in an operation that killed two Israeli soldiers.
• White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said he will speak with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about timetables for ending major combat in Gaza when he visits Israel later this week.
• A spokesman for Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli forces have stormed a hospital in northern Gaza. Ashraf al-Qidra said the troops forced all the men in Kamal Adwan Hospital, including medics, to gather in the courtyard after entering the facility on Tuesday. He called on the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene.
• A surgeon was wounded after being shot from outside a hospital in northern Gaza that is surrounded by Israeli forces, Doctors Without Borders said. The aid group said the shooting occurred Monday at Al-Awda Hospital, and that five hospital staff at Al-Awda Hospital, including two of its own doctors, have been killed while caring for patients since the start of the war.