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Australia has changed its position to support a UN General Assembly resolution calling on “Israel to end its illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as soon as possible”.
The resolution also demanded the cessation of all new settlements in the occupied territory and the withdrawal of settlers.
Australia was among 157 countries to support the resolution at a meeting on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) in New York.
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Eight voted against, including Israel and the US.
Seven nations abstained.
In a major departure from previous policy, Australia last month supported a UN resolution recognizing Palestinian sovereignty over resources in the occupied Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank.
Meanwhile in Gaza, Israeli drone strikes hit Kamal Adwan Hospital, injuring three medical staff at one of the few hospitals still partially functioning in the northernmost part of the territory, the facility’s director said.
IN LebanonA fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah held despite Israeli forces carrying out several new drone and artillery strikes on Tuesday, killing a shepherd in the country’s south.
The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Hossam Abu Safiya, said drones were dropping bombs, spraying shrapnel around the hospital on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT).
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
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In comments released by the Gaza Ministry of Health, Abu Safiya said one of the injured was in critical condition and was undergoing complex surgery.
“The situation has become extremely dangerous,” he said.
“We are exhausted by the constant violence and crimes.”
Kamal Adwan Hospital has been attacked multiple times in the past two months as Israeli forces wage a fierce offensive in the area, saying they are rooting out Hamas militants who have regrouped there.
In October, Israeli forces raided the hospital, saying militants had holed up inside, and arrested scores of people, including some staff.
Hospital officials denied the claim.
Abu Safiya was wounded in the thigh and back in an Israeli drone attack on a hospital last month.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu vowed to continue to strike with an “iron fist” against Hezbollah’s perceived ceasefire violations in Lebanon.
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Hezbollah began launching rockets, drones and missiles at Israel last year in solidarity with Hamas militants fighting in the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza war began when Hamas-led militants invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 people hostage.
Israel’s fierce retaliatory offensive has killed at least 44,500 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were killed by fighters. Israel claims to have killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war in Gaza destroyed large areas of the coastal enclave and displaced 90 percent of the population of 2.3 million, often multiple times.
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