- Blinken ‘confident’ Gaza ceasefire implementation to start on Sunday
- Egypt says Gaza truce must ‘start without delay’, saying ready to host Gaza reconstruction conference
GAZA/CAIRO: At least $10 billion will likely be needed to rebuild Gaza’s devastated health system over the next five to seven years, according to an initial World Health Organisation assessment, AFP reports.
“The needs are massive,” the UN health agency’s representative in the Palestinian territories, Rik Peeperkorn, told reporters. The initial assessment of the cost to rebuild just the health sector was “for even more than $3bn for the first 1.5 years and then actually $10bn for the five to seven years”.
Israeli media says cabinet to convene on Friday to approve brokered ceasefire agreement
The Israeli cabinet will convene on Friday to approve the brokered Gaza ceasefire agreement, Reuters reports citing Israeli media.
WHO calls for international support to fund aid in Gaza after ceasefire deal
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for the international community to step up and fund a scaled-up aid response in Gaza after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal to end 15 months of fighting in the region earlier this week, Reuters reports.
The UN health agency said its member states, donors and the global community, including the private sector, should support both the urgent health needs and the longer-term rebuilding of Gaza’s healthcare system.
“The UN cannot deliver the response alone,” said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Israel military says struck around 50 targets in Gaza over the last day
The Israeli military has said that it struck approximately 50 targets throughout the Gaza Strip over the last day, AFP reports.
“The [Israeli air force] conducted strikes on approximately 50 terror targets across the Gaza Strip, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists, military compounds, weapons storage facilities, launch posts, weapons manufacturing sites, and observation posts”, the military said in a statement following the announcement of a ceasefire deal the day before.
Hecklers interrupt Blinken over Gaza policy at his final news conference
Multiple hecklers have interrupted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken inside the State Department briefing room during his remarks on the heels of a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, Reuters reports.
“Criminal! You belong in The Hague,” independent journalist Sam Husseini shouted as Blinken delivered opening remarks at his final news conference.
Husseini was carried out by security personnel after his repeated shouts.
Blinken was interrupted at least two other times earlier with similar heckling denouncing US policy on the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Blinken ‘confident’ Gaza ceasefire implementation to start on Sunday
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has voiced confidence that the implementation of a ceasefire in Gaza will begin on Sunday after Israel held off on a cabinet vote and accused Hamas of backtracking, AFP reports.
“I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said, on Sunday,” Blinken said at a farewell news conference.
Blinken said that he and other officials of President Joe Biden’s administration, which ends on Monday, were on the telephone to try to resolve issues in the ceasefire.
“It’s not exactly surprising that in a process, in a negotiation, that has been this challenging and this fraught, you may get a loose end. We’re tying up that loose end as we speak,” Blinken said.
Egypt says Gaza truce must ‘start without delay’
Egypt’s foreign ministry has said the implementation of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip must “start without delay”, a day after mediators announced Israel and Hamas had reached a truce, AFP reports.
In a statement, the Egyptian foreign ministry called for an immediate start to the truce and stressed “the need for the parties to adhere to its provisions and work to implement its stages on the specified dates”.
Egypt says ready to host Gaza reconstruction conference
Egypt’s foreign ministry has said it is “ready to host an international conference” on the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, AFP reports.
In a statement, Cairo called for the rapid, safe and effective distribution of humanitarian aid, as well as “early recovery projects in preparation for the reconstruction” of the Palestinian territory, which has been devastated by 15 months of fighting.
Yemen Houthi chief says Israel ‘failed miserably’ in Gaza
The leader of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels has said Israel has “failed miserably” in Gaza, a day after a ceasefire deal was announced in the Palestinian territory, AFP reports.
“The Israeli enemy failed to achieve its declared and clear goals, and failed miserably to recover its prisoners without an exchange deal,” Abdulmalik al-Huthi said in a televised address, insisting that Israel and the US were “obliged” to accept the ceasefire.
