Top news

THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR|THE ATTACKS

Hundreds of heavy bombs over Gaza - similar to Vietnam

Israel has dropped hundreds of bombs weighing up to a ton each over the Gaza Strip, CNN reports. The channel has used AI to identify bomb craters on high-resolution satellite images.

According to experts CNN spoke to, the use of such powerful weapons in densely populated areas is likely the main reason for the high death toll.

- You have to go all the way back to the Vietnam War to find something similar, says Marc Garlasco, former defense analyst in the US Army and now war crimes investigator at the UN.

In a similar investigation in the New York Times, the newspaper claims to be able to show that Israel has "routinely" used its most powerful bombs in densely populated areas.

Cory Scher of the City University of New York, who has also analyzed satellite images of the Gaza Strip, tells Sky News the devastation is so extensive that the area today has a different color than before the outbreak of war, even seen from space.

A spokesperson for Israel's military, who was given access to the New York Times' information, told the newspaper that "questions of this type will be answered later", and that they are taking "possible actions"

**************************************

THE RUSSIAN INVASION|THE WORLD'S RESPONSE

Ukraine and Poland ready to sort out the truck issue

Ukraine and Poland's new government are ready to work to solve "problematic issues" - in particular, the Polish truck drivers blocking border crossings. Reuters reports.

The promise was made after a meeting in Kyiv between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his newly appointed Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski.

The Polish drivers are upset about what they see as a competitive advantage for Ukrainian drivers, who were given permit-free access to EU roads during the war. The demand is for the permits to be reintroduced, but the EU rules that out.

Ukraine has been dissatisfied with what it perceived as a reluctance on the part of the former Polish right-wing government to address the issue.

************************************

THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR|THE REACTIONS

UN Security Council adopts toned-down Gaza resolution

The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution on greater and faster deliveries of humanitarian aid to Gaza, reports Reuters.

However, the resolution was toned down and did not include any demand for a ceasefire. The United States, which in several rounds demanded additional negotiation time and threatened a veto, dropped its vote. So did Russia.

The rewritten resolution calls for "urgent steps to immediately allow safe, unimpeded and expanded humanitarian assistance and the creation of the right conditions for a sustainable ceasefire".

In the original text, "an immediate and lasting ceasefire" was required.

**************************************

THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR|THE REACTIONS

An aid delivery going into Gaza.

UN: Israel creates huge obstacles to aid deliveries

The real problem with regard to humanitarian aid lies in how it is distributed inside Gaza, says UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Many people measure the effectiveness of the support based on how many trucks cross the border – that's a mistake, he says.

- The real problem is that the way Israel conducts its offensive creates massive obstacles to the distribution of aid inside Gaza.

The only way to make aid more efficient is a humanitarian ceasefire, adds the UN chief.

On Friday, the UN Security Council voted through a watered-down resolution on increased humanitarian aid, after the US and Russia abstained.

Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is adamant that the country will continue to inspect all aid deliveries to Gaza "for security reasons".