Live Updates: G20 calls for 'comprehensive' ceasefires in Gaza, Lebanon

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

06:21 GMT –– G20 calls for 'comprehensive' ceasefires in Gaza, Lebanon

G20 leaders called for "comprehensive" ceasefires in both Gaza and Lebanon in a joint statement at a summit in Brazil on Monday.

The leaders of the world's biggest economies called for a US-proposed permanent ceasefire in Palestine's Gaza in return for the release of all hostages, as well as a Lebanon ceasefire “that enables citizens to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line.”

05:23 GMT –– Nearly 100 food aid trucks violently looted in Gaza: UN

Nearly 100 trucks carrying food for Palestinians were looted on Nov. 16 after entering war-torn Gaza in one of the worst aid losses during 13 months of war in the enclave, where hunger is deepening, two UN agencies told Reuters on Monday.

The convoy transporting food provided by UNRWA and the World Food Programme was instructed by Israel to depart at short notice via an unfamiliar route from Karem Abu Salem border crossing, said Louise Wateridge, UNRWA Senior Emergency Officer.

Ninety-eight of the 109 trucks in the convoy were raided and some of the transporters were injured during the incident, she said, without detailing who carried out the ambush.

04:10 GMT –– Fresh Israeli strikes on Beirut kills 5

Israel staged a new bombing raid on central Beirut on Monday, killing five people according to the health ministry, as firefighters said a rocket launched from Lebanon killed one woman in Israel.

Israel has staged three strikes in two days against central Beirut, after weeks of air raids aimed at emptying the southern suburbs stronghold of Hezbollah.

03:00 GMT –– Fate of millions of Palestinians hangs in the balance: UNRWA chief

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), has warned that the suspension of UN operations directly threatens the lives of Palestinian refugees.

Lazzarini was in Geneva for a meeting of UNRWA's advisory commission to discuss the way forward at the organisation's "darkest moment".

"The clock is ticking fast," he told the commission, according to a transcript.

"What hangs in the balance, is the fate of millions of Palestine refugees".