Starvation in the isolated northern part of Gaza has been on the rise with aid barely reaching the rest of the population.

The latest brutal developments in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories was high on the agenda in a meeting between Qatar’s Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi and U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues David Satterfield on Tuesday.

Al Khulaifi underlined the imperative need for a continuous influx of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

As the genocide nears five months, Israel has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza while forcibly displacing more than 80 percent of the population.

Al Khulaifi stressed the urgency of strengthening regional and international collaborative efforts aimed at securing an immediate ceasefire in the troubled region.

In the same meeting, Satterfield commended Qatar’s dual role in not only mediating but also actively participating in humanitarian relief initiatives

Algeria presented a draft resolution on behalf of Arab nations on Tuesday that received the majority vote of 13 out of 15 UNSC members in favour of it, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Washington, Tel Aviv’s staunchest ally, was the only country to vote against the draft as the United Kingdom abstained.

Qatar expressed its “deep regret” over the blocking of Algeria’s UNSC draft resolution which called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday.

Negligent of the interim ICJ ruling, Israel has continued its genocidal war in Gaza with dangerous plans to advance into Rafah, where more than one million displaced Palestinians have been crammed up. 

Starvation in the isolated northern part has been on the rise with aid barely reaching the rest of the population.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the UN called for an investigation into reports pointing to violations against Palestinian women and girls in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank by Israel.

“We are particularly distressed by reports that Palestinian women and girls in detention have also been subjected to multiple forms of sexual assault, such as being stripped naked and searched by male Israeli army officers. At least two female Palestinian detainees were reportedly raped while others were reportedly threatened with rape and sexual violence,” the experts told the UN.

Since Monday, the Hague has listened to arguments by 52 countries on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.

Qatar is due to present its argument on February 23 along with the United Kingdom, Namibia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Indonesia, Slovenia, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, and Tunisia.

The case is separate from the one that South Africa had raised last year.

The ICJ’s decision to move forward with the proceedings came after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on December 30, 2022, seeking the court’s opinion on the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

Qatar was among the majority of 98 countries that voted in favour of the resolution. A total of 24 other countries, including Israel’s main ally the U.S., had voted against the resolution, as 53 members abstained.