INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The United States kept up pressure on Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians during a fierce offensive against Hamas militants
across Gaza, even as Washington vetoed a U.N
Security Council demand for an immediate ceasefire.Fighting escalated and the Palestinian death toll rose on Friday, with Israel pounding
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared that nowhere in Gaza was safe for civilians, hours before the U.S
vetoed a Security Council resolution backed by the vast majority of its members calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.The vote left
Washington diplomatically isolated on the 15-member council
Thirteen members voted in favor of the draft resolution put forward by the United Arab Emirates, while Britain abstained.Deputy U.S
humanitarian aid flow increase
The deal broke down on Dec
a complete breakdown of public order
Most Gazans are now displaced, hospitals overrun and food running out.Residents and the Israeli military both reported intensified fighting
in both northern areas, where Israel had previously said its troops had largely completed their tasks last month, and in the south where
Nusseirat camp in the centre and Gaza City in the north
On Friday evening, residents reported intensified Israeli tank fire in north Gaza, while health officials said at least 10 people were
militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 240 hostages.An Israeli commander, Brig
driven from their homes, and residents say it has become almost impossible to find refuge.Israel says it is providing detail about which
areas are safe and that Hamas is to blame for harm to civilians because it operates among them, an accusation the Islamist group
denies.Hamas reported the most intense clashes with Israeli forces were taking place in the north in Shejaia, as well as in the south in
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel had detained more than 200 suspects from Gaza in the last 48 hours and dozens were taken to Israel
for questioning.Reuters journalists in southern Gaza have seen dead and wounded swamping the main Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, where
there was no room on the floor on Friday for arriving patients sprawled across blood-smeared tiles.With the fighting now going on in all
