While many Palestinians welcomed the UN Security Council’s first resolution demanding an immediate halt to the Gaza war, on the ground, it’s had little impact.
Witnesses say Israeli warplanes bombed the southern city of Rafah and fierce gun battles raged around hospitals in nearby Khan Younis and Gaza City.
Rocket warning sirens also sounded in Israeli towns near Gaza. Israel reacted furiously after its closest ally, the US, abstained in the UN Security Council vote.
That allowed the resolution demanding a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages to pass with the support of all the other 14 council members.
Hours after the vote, Hamas said it had told mediators it was sticking to its original demands for a comprehensive ceasefire which include the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and a return of displaced Palestinians.
The Israeli prime minister’s office described this as “unrealistic.”