INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Israel faced growing diplomatic isolation in its war against Hamas as the United Nations demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in
President Joe Biden told the longtime ally its &indiscriminate& bombing of civilians was hurting international support.After dire warnings
officials about a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the 193-member U.N
General Assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire with three-quarters of member states voting in favour, Reuters
reported.&The price of defeating Hamas cannot be the continuous suffering of all Palestinian civilians,& the leaders of Canada, Australia
and New Zealand said separately in a joint statement calling for a ceasefire.The Palestinian Authority welcomed the resolution and urged
countries to pressure Israel to comply.The U.S
and Israel, which argue a ceasefire only benefits Hamas, voted against the measure along with eight other countries.Before the resolution,
Biden said Israel now has support from &most of the world& including the U.S
and European Union for its fight against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.&But they&re starting to lose that support by indiscriminate
bombing that takes place,& he told a campaign donor event in Washington.In the most public sign of division between the leaders so far,
Biden also said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needed to change his hardline government and that ultimately Israel &can&t
say no& to an independent Palestinian state & something that Israeli hardliners oppose.Israel&s assault on Gaza to root out Hamas has killed
at least 18,205 Palestinians including many children and wounded nearly 50,000 since Oct
7, according to the Gaza health ministry.The conflict has also led to starvation, displaced 85% of the population from their homes and
caused diseases to spread, according to the U.N
and Gaza health ministry.The Wall Street Journal and ABC meanwhile reported that the Israeli military began pumping seawater into Hamas&
tunnel network, where the militant group is believed to be hiding fighters and munitions and basing hit-and-run street attacks on Israeli
troops.Biden said he had heard unconfirmed reports there were no hostages in the tunnels
Some hostages freed during a ceasefire reported they had been held in tunnels
The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports.The post UN demands ceasefire in Gaza as Israel and US show increasing divisions
first appeared on Ariana News.
