International pressure mounts as Israel's allies call for cease-fire in Gaza

File Photo/AFP

In the midst of the 10-week-long Israel-Hamas conflict, Israel's key allies such as France, the UK, and Germany have joined global appeals for an immediate cease-fire. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to arrive in Tel Aviv to further emphasize the need for de-escalation in the ongoing hostilities in Gaza.

The war, which has persisted for over two months, has left a devastating toll on the Palestinian population, with over 18,700 reported casualties. Large portions of northern Gaza now resemble a moonscape, and approximately 85 per cent of the territory's population has been displaced from their homes.

Notably, a Cayman Islands-flagged tanker, the Swan Atlantic, came under attack in the Red Sea, a vital shipping route off Yemen. The incident is the latest in a series of assaults in the region, with Houthi rebels in Yemen claiming responsibility, citing support for Palestinians.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Israel of deliberately starving Gaza's population, labeling it a war crime. HRW alleges that Israeli forces have obstructed the delivery of essential supplies, including water, food, and fuel, while also impeding humanitarian assistance.

Here's what's happening in the war:

A COMMERCIAL SHIP IS ATTACKED IN THE RED SEA

A Cayman Islands-flagged tanker has been attacked in a crucial shipping route off Yemen, a US military official said Monday.

The attack that targeted the Swan Atlantic, a chemical and oil products carrier, is the latest in a series of assaults on vessels in the Red Sea and its strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The attacks have been claimed by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who say they are targeting vessels linked to Israel in support of Palestinian militants.

The US official said the vessel was attacked by multiple projectiles at about 9 am local time.

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The USS Carney, a US warship which provides security to ships in the area, responded to the incident, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the attack.

The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which monitors Mideast shipping lanes, also reported an incident in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, off Yemen's port of Mocha, and warned vessels in the area to exercise caution.

It reported "a possible explosion in the water" about 2 nautical miles from the vessel.

The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the assault.

RIGHTS WATCHDOG ACCUSES ISRAEL OF DELIBERATELY STARVING CIVILIANS

Human Rights Watch is accusing Israel of deliberately starving Gaza's population, a method of warfare that it described as a war crime.

The New York-based rights organization said Monday that Israeli forces were "deliberately blocking the delivery of water, food, and fuel, while wilfully impeding humanitarian assistance (and) apparently razing agricultural areas"

The United Nations' food agency reported on December 14 that 56 per cent of Gaza's households were experiencing "severe levels of hunger," up from 38 per cent two weeks earlier.

HRW said that following the October 7 attack by Gaza-based militants on Israel that killed around 1,200 people, top Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, made public statements "expressing their aim to deprive civilians in Gaza of food, water and fuel." Other Israeli officials have made statements conditioning the provision of humanitarian aid on the release of the approximately 240 hostages Palestinian militants took into Gaza, HRW said.

The starving of civilians is a war crime under international humanitarian law. For the first two months of the war, humanitarian aid was delivered to Gaza through a single border crossing from Egypt, severely restricting the amount of food and other supplies that could reach the coastal enclave's residents. After pressure from the United States, Israel reopened a second border-crossing into Gaza last week. But the amount of aid entering the territory is still less than half of prewar imports, even as needs have soared and fighting hinders delivery in many areas. (With inputs from AP and PTI)