The United Nations Security Council called for “full adherence to the ceasefire” that ended the 11-day conflict between Israel and Palestinian which claimed many lives and left others injured.
In a statement on Saturday, all 15 UNSC members “mourned the loss of civilian lives resulting from the violence” and “stressed the immediate need for humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly in Gaza”. The 11-day Israeli bombardment of Gaza killed at least 248 people, and over 1,900 people wounded. At least 12 people in Israel were killed by rocket fire from Gaza.
The statement further said it was urgent to restore calm and “reiterated the importance of achieving a comprehensive peace based on the vision of a region where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace with secure and recognised borders”, reported Al Jazeera.
US President Joe Biden has said Washington will work with UN agencies on expediting humanitarian aid for Gaza “in a manner that does not permit Hamas to simply restock its military arsenal”.
Last week, this new episode of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict broke out after the civil unrest in East Jerusalem over an Israeli court’s decision to evict several Palestinian families from the area, prompting hostilities on the borders of both countries, with Hamas having launched approximately 3,700 rockets against Israel, which retaliated with airstrikes, Sputnik reported.
Amid the ceasefire between Israel and Palestine, Jerusalem’s Temple Mount complex has opened to Jews on Sunday morning for the first time in 20 days.
The Times of Israel reported that the complex was opened to Jews on Sunday morning for the first time in 20 days, amid simmering tensions. The complex has played a major role in sparking hostilities with the Hamas in Gaza and violence across Israel.
The Temple Mount is the holiest place in Judaism, as the site of the biblical Temples. It is also a site of the third-holiest shrine in Islam, the Al-Aqsa Mosque.Jews have been barred from visiting the Temple Mount since 3 May, when authorities made the decision to shutter the compound to non-Muslims amid spiraling tensions in the city, reported Israel Times.
As for reconstruction works, Palestinian officials put costs at tens of millions of dollars in Gaza, where medical officials said that 248 people were killed during the 11 days of fighting.
Medics said rocket fire and a guided missile attack killed 13 people in Israel during the hostilities.
As per Reuters, economists said Israel’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic could be curbed by the hostilities. Israel reopened its borders to foreign tourists on Sunday but said it would take time to revive the tourism industry. Israel has fully vaccinated about 55% of its population and Covid-19 cases have dropped sharply.
On Friday, an Egypt-brokered ceasefire was reached between the two sides.