Israel/ Palestine Conflict Update| UN Security Council urges aid for Palestine

The UN Security Council is welcoming the cease-fire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers and calls for full adherence to the cessation of hostilities. 

Saturday's statement was approved by all 15 members of the council. It said the council “mourned the loss of civilian lives resulting from the violence” and “stressed the immediate need for humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly in Gaza.”

The statement further said it was urgent to restore calm and “reiterated the importance of achieving a comprehensive peace based on the vision of a region where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace with secure and recognised borders.” 

Council members backed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' call for the international community to work with the United Nations in developing a “robust package of support for a swift, sustainable reconstruction and recovery.”

The council recognised “the important role” in achieving the cease-fire by d the important role played by Egypt in achieving the cease-fire as well as other regional countries, the UN, the quartet of Mideast mediators — the UN, US, European Union and Russia — and other international players.

The United States, Israel's closest ally, had earlier blocked four proposed council statements calling for a cease-fire that all other members supported, saying it could interfere with Biden administration efforts to end the hostilities.

More than 2,000 houses destroyed in conflict

A Palestinian official says an initial assessment shows that at least 2,000 housing units were destroyed in the fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza.

Naji Sarhan, deputy of Gaza's works and housing ministry, told The Associated Press today that more than 15,000 other units were partly destroyed in the 11-day war.

Israel launched hundreds of air strikes on the overcrowded strip, targeting residential, commercial and government buildings. It said it was going after locations where Hamas had offices and resources. 

Sarhan says four mosques were destroyed along with dozens of police offices in Gaza. He says most of the factories in Gaza's industrial zone were destroyed or damaged.

Meanwhile, police inspected unexploded Israeli ordinance collected during the campaign. Police chief Mahmoud Salah said nearly 300 Israeli rockets and shells did not explode. 

Sarhan put the estimated financial losses from the fighting at $150 million. He says an assessment is still ongoing.

Hamas leader makes first public appearance

The top Hamas leader in Gaza, Yehiyeh Sinwar, has made his first public appearance since the militant group's war with Israel erupted earlier this month.

Israel had bombed the homes of senior Hamas figures during 11 days of fighting, as part of its attack on the group's military infrastructure. The home of Sinwar was also attacked.

Sinwar was seen on Saturday as he paid his respects at a house of mourning for a Hamas commander killed in the war.

Israel's defence minister, Benny Gantz, said has said top Hamas leaders remain targets, even after an Egyptian-brokered truce went into effect early Friday.

In the fighting, Israel had unleashed hundreds of air strikes against militant targets in Gaza, while Hamas and other militants fired more than 4,000 rockets towards Israel.

Demonstrations for better Jew-Arab relations

Meanwhile, thousands have been rallying in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, calling for coexistence between Jews and Arabs. 

The demonstration on Saturday night was one of several held across Israel to call for peace between Israelis and Palestinians in the wake of 11 days of fighting in Gaza that ended with a cease-fire early on Friday.

Demonstrators marched through the city and later gathered in the central Habima Square to hear from politicians and artists.

Ayman Odeh, the leader of the main Arab party in parliament, called for a Palestinian state to be established alongside Israel. Odeh said: “There are two peoples here. Both deserve the right to self-determination.”

Israeli author David Grossman said that “the battle today is not between Arabs and Jews, but between those on both sides who strive to live in peace and in a fair partnership, and those on both sides who are fed by hatred and violence.”

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