“We need international protection and international action to end impunity, so as to prevent the recurrence of these crimes that occur daily, and in broad daylight,” Al-Maliki stated at a UN Security Council meeting.
On October 7, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and abducting people. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, cutting off supplies of water, food, and fuel. On October 27, Israel launched a ground incursion into the Gaza Strip.
Last week, the sides declared a four-day truce to exchange some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as allow the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Late on Monday, Qatar said that an agreement had been reached between Israel and Hamas on a two-day extension of the humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip on the same terms as the previous one. The conflict has so far resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,200 people in Israel and over 16,000 in the Gaza Strip.