U.S. vetoes UN resolution for cease-fire as Israel ramps up airstrikes in Gaza

Geoff Bennett:

The U.S. vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution today that called for a cease-fire in Gaza. The U.S. was the lone no-vote in the 15-member council.

Amna Nawaz:

The move came as the U.N. and others are ramping up already dire warnings of humanitarian catastrophe if more aid isn't sent into Gaza soon and if the fighting isn't stopped.

According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, nearly 17,500 Palestinians have been killed since the October 7 Hamas terror attacks against Israel. And the Israeli air and ground campaign is not slowing down.

In Southern Gaza, explosions shroud the skyline from afar, and up close shake the streets. Israel has ramped up it's airstrikes across the Strip, hitting 450 sites in just 24 hours. More destruction means fewer places to shelter. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are now crammed into a fast-shrinking space.

Younis Al-Halabi finished morning prayer with his family when a strike hit his home.

Younis Al-Halabi, Gaza Strip Resident (through interpreter):

This is not a life. Death or destruction, it's all the same. Those forced out of their home might as well be dead.

Amna Nawaz:

In Central Gaza's Deir al-Balah last night, people in Yafa Hospital were given 30 minutes' notice to evacuate before an Israeli airstrike. Today, many returned, including the elderly, to sleep in the halls among broken glass and shattered medical equipment.

Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General:

Nowhere in Gaza is safe.

Amna Nawaz:

Before the U.S. veto, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the Security Council to vote for an immediate cease-fire, warning Gaza's humanitarian system faced a high risk of total collapse.

Antonio Guterres:

We anticipate that it will result in a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt.

Amna Nawaz:

In the north, Israel's mission to — quote — "eradicate' Hamas intensified. More images circulated today showing Palestinians detained by the IDF stripped of their clothes, some blindfolded, and crammed into military vehicles. The IDF says it will continue to make sweeping group arrests.

Eylon Levy, Israeli Government Spokesman:

We're talking about military aged men who were discovered in areas that civilians were supposed to have evacuated weeks ago. Now those individuals will be questioned and we will work out who indeed was a Hamas terrorist and who is not.

Amna Nawaz:

But the killing of Palestinians who are not affiliated with Hamas continues to far outnumber those who are. Yesterday, celebrated poet and Palestinian academic Refaat Alareer was killed in an airstrike at his home in Gaza City.

Two years ago, during the may 2021, conflict, "NewsHour"'s John Yang spoke to Alareer by phone.

Refaat Alareer, Palestinian Academic and Author: We believe our struggle is part of a global struggle, the historical struggle around the world of the indigenous peoples around the world.

Amna Nawaz:

On October 10, Alareer had given this interview to Reuters.

Refaat Alareer:

Israel wants us out of Palestine or kneeling in submission, in total subjugation. Palestinians are looking forward to a future with equal freedom, equal rights and freedom, and that is not much to ask.

Amna Nawaz:

After news of his death broke, fellow Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha shared Alareer's last poem called "If I Must Die."

Mosab Abu Toha, Poet:

"If I must die, you must live to tell my story."

Amna Nawaz:

In the occupied West Bank, six more dead after a gunfight following an Israeli raid on the Far'a refugee camp. Military raids here have surged dramatically since the October 7 Hamas attack.

Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv, the wail of sirens sends crowds running for shelters as Hamas continues to fire more rockets toward Israel. Many are intercepted by its Iron Dome.

At the funeral of IDF soldier Gal Eisenkot, wails of sorrow. His father, Israeli war cabinet member Gadi Eisenkot, delivered the eulogy for a son killed in combat yesterday in Gaza. Senior officials mourned with the family in the most high-profile loss for the IDF so far.