Hamas demands ‘immediate action’ to end war in Gaza

Hamas said in a statement Tuesday that it is expecting the U.N. to take “immediate action” to end the war in Gaza.

“We demand immediate action to stop the Israeli aggression and the war,” said the Hamas statement, which was directed at United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

But the Palestinian group also said it will not participate in new cease-fire talks. It said will not waver from its position “against entering new negotiations that would provide (Israel) with cover to continue its aggression.”

In recent days, there have been fewer strikes on Gaza as Israel escalates attacks in Lebanon it says are aimed at Hezbollah.

However, Israel launched deadly strikes Tuesday across Gaza, killing at least 22 people and injuring at least 40, according to Palestinian health officials. One of the strikes, on the Nuseirat refugee camp, six Palestinians were killed, three of them women.

Israeli tanks battled Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters in northern and western Rafah, according to residents and a statement from the two Palestinian groups — both of which are designated terrorist organizations by the U.S. and others.

The militants said they used anti-tank rockets, IEDs and mortar fire against the Israeli army. Residents said the Israelis destroyed several homes in the city, which is near the border with Egypt.

The Israel Defense Forces had no comment.

The Israel-Hamas war was ignited by Hamas’ shock October 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 people and took hostage about 250 others.

Both Hezbollah and Hamas are Iranian-funded groups designated by the U.S. and other countries as terrorist organizations that have vowed to destroy the Jewish state of Israel.

In remarks Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Gaza “a nonstop nightmare that threatens to take the entire region with it.”

Guterres told the opening of the annual United Nations General Assembly, “We should all be alarmed by the escalation. Lebanon is at the brink. The people of Lebanon, the people of Israel and the people of the world cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.”

Source » voanews.com