Middle East live blog: ++ USA seeks a six-week ceasefire ++

The US says it is pushing for a hostage agreement and a six-week ceasefire in Gaza. China calls for an end to the operations in Rafah. The developments in the live blog.

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting behind closed doors on the high death toll in the Gaza Strip and Israeli plans to expand the military offensive on Rafah. Around 1.5 million Palestinians have fled to the city on the coastal border with Egypt in the hope of being safe from fighting between the Israeli military and the militant Islamist Hamas.

Chinese UN Ambassador Zhang Jun told the AP after the meeting that there had been loud calls among Security Council members to address the “unfolding humanitarian catastrophe”, Israel’s announced intentions in the Gaza Strip and the risk of the conflict spreading further. Algeria, which called the emergency meeting, has circulated a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the war sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented terrorist attack on Israel on October 7.

Jewish settlers attacked several Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank overnight. There were injuries and property damage. According to local media reports, they injured two Palestinians with gunfire, including a teenager. During attacks on the towns of Asira al-Kiblija, Madama and Huwara south of the Palestinian city of Nablus, Jewish settlers reportedly threw stones at Palestinians and set a house and several vehicles on fire.

According to the information, the attackers included a group of around 20 Jewish settlers from the nearby Jitzhar settlement. The Times of Israel newspaper, citing army radio, reported that the Israeli army later drove out the attackers. There were no reports of arrests.

According to the military, Israeli units have killed dozens of armed Palestinians in fighting in the center and south of the Gaza Strip within 24 hours since Monday. More than 30 gunmen were killed in Khan Yunis alone. The city is not far from Rafah, which lies on the border with Egypt and is increasingly becoming the focus of the Israeli military offensive against the radical Islamic Hamas.

China has called on Israel to stop its military operation in Rafah, southern Gaza, “as soon as possible.” If this does not happen, the “humanitarian catastrophe” in the Palestinian city will worsen, said the Foreign Ministry in Beijing.

Israel must “do everything to avoid innocent civilian casualties and an even worse humanitarian catastrophe.” “China is closely monitoring developments in the Rafah region and condemns any actions that harm civilians and violate international law,” the statement added. Beijing thus joined the increasing pressure on Israel to limit its military actions in the Gaza Strip and work towards a ceasefire.

According to a media report, Israel has proposed setting up extensive tent cities for the city’s population to be evacuated ahead of the planned military offensive on Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. As the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Egyptian officials, Israel’s evacuation proposal calls for setting up 15 camps, each with about 25,000 tents, in the southwestern part of the sealed-off coastal area.

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has described the liberation of two hostages from the Gaza Strip in a dramatic rescue operation as a turning point in the war against the militant Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas. “Hamas is vulnerable and understands that we can reach any place,” Gallant said in a video released by his office. “The day when there will be further operations is not far away.” Still, most of the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip need to be brought home through an agreement rather than military action, Gallant said.

According to US President Joe Biden, the USA is calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip for at least six weeks. His government is working on a “hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas that will bring immediate and lasting calm to the Gaza Strip,” Biden said on Monday in Washington at a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II. The civilians who were in Rafah The border with Egypt must be protected, Biden said.

Canada has called on Israel to abandon plans for a Rafah offensive. Such an attack would be devastating for the Palestinians, the State Department said.

“I am very concerned about what is happening in Gaza, particularly in Rafah,” said Foreign Minister Melanie Joly. “The operation would be devastating and is devastating for the Palestinians and all those seeking refuge.” People no longer have safe places to retreat, said Joly.

The USA still believes an agreement to release hostages held in the Gaza Strip is possible. “We believe an agreement is possible and we will continue to pursue it,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. Informed sources said that the head of the US foreign intelligence service CIA, William Burns, is expected in Cairo for new talks on an agreement brokered by Qatar, the AFP news agency reported.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II has arrived in Washington for a visit. US President Joe Biden received the king at the White House for talks that also included the liberation of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip and the planned Israeli ground offensive in the border town of Rafah.

It was the allies’ first conversation since the deadly drone attack on a US base in Jordan at the end of January. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Biden and King Abdullah II wanted to discuss contributions to ending the Gaza war, humanitarian aid and a lasting peace with a two-state solution with a security guarantee for Israel.

The Islamist militant group Hamas claims that three Israeli hostages have died as a result of an airstrike. Although the UN Palestinian Relief Agency is being criticized, its head does not want to resign. Monday’s live blog for reading.