Israel pounds Gaza ahead of UN truce vote

Israel hit Gaza with new air strikes on Tuesday as world powers grappled with how to broker a ceasefire ahead of a UN Security Council vote.

The United Nations sounded the alarm over the humanitarian situation in the besieged territory, warning that food shortages could lead to an “explosion” of preventable child deaths.

Four months of relentless fighting have flattened much of the Palestinian territory, pushed 2.2 million people to the brink of famine and displaced three-quarters of the population, according to UN estimates.

Global powers trying to navigate a way out of the spiraling crisis have so far come up short, with a push later Tuesday for a UN ceasefire resolution facing an expected US veto.

After months of struggling for a united response, all EU members except Hungary called Monday for an “immediate humanitarian pause”.

They also urged Israel not to invade Gaza’s southernmost city Rafah, where nearly 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering.

The city, the last untouched by Israeli ground troops, is also the main entry point for desperately needed relief supplies via neighboring Egypt.

Israel’s strikes on the city are hampering humanitarian operations, while the food supply is disrupted by regular border closures, according to the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

The scarcity of food and water has left children and women across the strip suffering a steep rise in malnutrition, the United Nations children’s fund warned Monday.

Over the weekend, Israeli protesters attempted to block aid trucks at the Egypt-Gaza border to escalate pressure for the release of hostages.

In Jerusalem, protesters marched to Netanyahu’s house, accusing him of abandoning the hostages.

A group of UN rights experts called Monday for an independent investigation into alleged Israeli abuses against Palestinian women and girls, including killings, rapes and sexual assault.