Move to renew Israel-Hamas truce

DOHA, Dec 10 (AFP/AP): Mediation efforts are continuing to secure a new Gaza ceasefire and free more hostages held by Hamas despite ongoing Israeli bombardment that is "narrowing the window" for a successful outcome, Qatar's prime minister said Sunday.
"Our efforts as the state of Qatar along with our partners are continuing. We are not going to give up," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Doha Forum, adding that "the continuation of the bombardment is just narrowing this window for us".
Israel declared war on Hamas after the militant group killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages, according to Israeli figures, in an unprecedented attack on October 7.
The Israeli offensive has killed at least 17,700 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, many of them women and children.
Qatar was a key mediator in negotiations that resulted in a seven-day truce, which saw scores of Israeli hostages exchanged for Palestinians prisoners and humanitarian aid, until it ended at the start of the month.
"We are going to continue, we are committed to have hostages released, but we are also committed to stop the war," Qatar's prime minister said.
But, he added, "we are not seeing the same willingness from both parties".
Addressing the Doha Forum earlier, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Security Council was "paralysed by geostrategic divisions" that were undermining solutions to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The body's "authority and credibility were severely undermined" by its delayed response to the war, he said two days after a US veto prevented a resolution calling for a Gaza ceasefire.
"I reiterated my appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared," he told the forum. "Regrettably, the Security Council failed to do it," he added. "I can promise, I will not give up."
Heavy fighting across Gaza as Israel
presses ahead with US support
Heavy fighting raged overnight and into Sunday across Gaza, including in the devastated north, as Israel pressed ahead with its offensive after the U.S. blocked the latest international push for a cease-fire and rushed more munitions to its close ally.
Israel has faced rising international outrage and calls for a permanent cease-fire after the killing of thousands of Palestinian civilians. Nearly 85% of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced within the besieged territory, where U.N. agencies say there is no safe place to flee.
The United States has lent vital support to the offensive once again in recent days, by vetoing United Nations Security Council efforts to end the fighting that enjoyed wide international support, and by pushing through an emergency sale of over $100 million worth of tank ammunition to Israel.
The U.S. has pledged unwavering support for Israel's goal of crushing Hamas' military and governing abilities in order to prevent any repeat of the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. Hamas and other Palestinian militants stormed into southern Israel that day, killing some 1,200 people and capturing around 240, over 100 of whom were released during a weeklong cease-fire late last month.
In response to the attack, Israel launched an air and ground war that has killed thousands of Palestinians, mostly civilians, and forced some 1.9 million people to flee their homes. With only a trickle of aid allowed in, and delivery rendered impossible in much of the territory, Palestinians face severe shortages of food, water and other basic goods.
Gaza war having catastrophic
health impact: WHO chief
The war between Israel and Hamas is having a catastrophic impact on health in the Gaza Strip, the head of the World Health Organization said Sunday.
The UN health agency called a special session of the WHO executive board to discuss the health conditions in the Palestinian territories, with WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus describing a collapsing system with medics facing an "impossible" job.
"The impact of the conflict on health is catastrophic," Tedros said in his opening remarks to the meeting in Geneva.