Live Updates: UN chief Guterres invokes Article 99 as Israel pounds southern Gaza

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter in a rare first such move that enjoined members of the Security Council to address what he described as “severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system” in Gaza.

In a letter to the current UN Security Council president José Javier De la Gasca Lopez Domínguez, Guterres said the invocation is so the “public order to completely break down due to desperate conditions, rendering even limited humanitarian assistance impossible.”

Article 99 allows the UN secretary-general to bring the attention of the security council to “any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.”

“Amid constant bombardment by the Israel Defense Forces, and without shelter or the essentials to survive, I expect public order to break down soon due to the desperate conditions, rendering even limited humanitarian assistance impossible,” Guterres wrote.

He added that the UN is “preparing options for monitoring the implementation” of Security Council Resolution 2712, which affirmed all parties must adhere to international law in the conflict, as well as called for extended pauses and the release of hostages.

The letter comes as the Israeli military deepened its campaign in the southern Gaza Strip. Its aerial forces struck some 250 targets in the enclave over the past day. The Israel Defense Forces also said that amid heavy fighting, it had killed several Hamas operatives in Jabalia in northern Gaza, adding that its troops found a huge cache of weapons in the area.

The death toll in Gaza has now surpassed 16,200, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Wednesday, and humanitarian conditions continue to worsen in the enclave.

The UN said that more than 80% of Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced by the Israeli bombardment. Israel urged Palestinians to leave Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, now the focus of its military campaign, after previously encouraging residents to flee from the northern part of the enclave. United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said in response this week that nowhere in Gaza is safe.

After Israel’s domestic intelligence chief said recently that the country would hunt down Hamas leaders in Turkey and Qatar, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan upped the war of words on Wednesday, saying that if Israel follows through on the threat, “it will pay the price in a way that [they] will not be able to get back on their feet again.”

Meanwhile, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday that “we don’t think Israel is doing enough” to allow sufficient aid into Gaza.

Amid ongoing attacks by Iran-backed factions in the region, Israel’s Arrow defense system intercepted a missile fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen, the IDF reported. An official said the missile was shot down before it entered Israeli airspace. The US Navy also shot down a drone on Wednesday that came from Houthi-controlled Yemen, a Pentagon official told Reuters.

Ezgi Akin, Beatrice Farhat, Rina Bassist, Elizabeth Hagedorn, Adam Lucente, Jack Dutton, Jared Szuba and Al-Monitor’s contributors on the ground in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel contributed to this blog.

Live updates (all times EDT):

Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023

4:00 pm: UN chief invokes Article 99 over humanitarian ‘catastrophe’ in Gaza

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter in a rare first such move that enjoined members of the Security Council to address what he described as a “severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system” in Gaza.

In a letter to the current UN Security Council president José Javier De la Gasca Lopez Domínguez, Guterres said the invocation is so the “public order to completely break down due to desperate conditions, rendering even limited humanitarian assistance impossible.”

Article 99 allows the UN secretary-general to bring the attention of the security council to “any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.”

“Amid constant bombardment by the Israel Defense Forces, and without shelter or the essentials to survive, I expect public order to break down soon due to the desperate conditions, rendering even limited humanitarian assistance impossible,” Guterres wrote.

He added that the UN is “preparing options for monitoring the implementation” of Security Council Resolution 2712, which affirmed all parties must adhere to international law in the conflict, as well as called for extended pauses and the release of hostages.

“I urge the members of the Security Council to press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe. I reiterate my appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared,” Guterres wrote.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, slammed Guterres’ move as “more proof of the Secretary-General’s moral distortion and his bias against Israel.”

“The Secretary-General’s call for a ceasefire is actually a call to keep Hamas’ reign of terror in Gaza,” Erdan posted on X, renewing his call on Guterres to resign.

2:30 pm: US Department of Justice investigating deaths of Americans killed, kidnapped by Hamas

The US Department of Justice is investigating the murder and kidnapping of Americans during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel under a war crimes law that is also now being used to charge four Russian soldiers with torturing an American during Russia’s war in Ukraine, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday.

“Hamas murdered more than 30 Americans and kidnapped more,” Garland said. “We are investigating those heinous crimes and we will hold those people accountable.”

12:52 pm: US Navy sending two destroyers to Eastern Mediterranean to replace others

The US Navy this week dispatched two destroyers to the Eastern Mediterranean on rotation “as part of deterrence efforts in the region,” a defense official speaking not for attribution told Al-Monitor.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Delbert D. Black and USS The Sullivans left port in Florida on Dec. 1 and 3, respectively, and are expected to relieve the destroyers USS Thomas Hudner and USS Mason already in Middle East waters, a defense official told Al-Monitor.

The rotation comes as the Pentagon seeks to sustain a significant buildup of US military forces in the region to dissuade Iran-backed groups from exploiting the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

The Pentagon is seeking allied assistance to bolster security in Middle East waterways following unprecedented attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels against commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

12:10 pm: Pentagon confirms US warship shot down another Houthi drone in Red Sea

A US Navy destroyer shot down another Houthi drone in the southern Red Sea on Wednesday morning, two Pentagon officials confirmed to Al-Monitor.

The USS Mason shot down the drone around 10:20 am Yemen time, one of the officials said, adding that there was no damage to the US ship or injury to its crew. A second defense official said it was unclear whether the Mason was the target of the drone.

The latest shoot-down comes just three days after Houthis launched an unprecedented ballistic missile attack on three commercial cargo vessels, prompting the United States to call upon allies to redouble coalition efforts to secure shipping lanes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

6:38 am: Arrow defense system intercepts missile heading for Eilat

Israel’s Arrow long-range missile defense system intercepted a surface-to-surface missile aimed at Israel’s southern city of Eilat, said military spokesperson Daniel Hagari. "The interception took place in the Red Sea, and the missile didn't enter Israel's territory or pose a threat to Israeli civilians," he stated.

5:45 am: Iraqi militias claim more strikes on US forces

The Islamic Resistance of Iraq said it hit the Harir air base that hosts US forces in northern Iraq via a drone attack. Earlier, the umbrella group of Iran-linked militias operating in Iraq said it hit US forces at the Ain al-Asad base with a drone. US forces in Iraq and Syria have been the targets of at least 78 such attacks since Oct. 17. The Pentagon blames Iran-backed groups, while the Islamic Resistance of Iraq says the strikes are in response to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

4:40 am: Israeli military uncovers largest ammunition cache so far in Gaza

The Israeli military discovered one of the largest caches of weapons yet during its operations in the north of the Gaza Strip, said IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari. “All of the terror infrastructure was found near civilian buildings in the heart of the civilian population. This is further proof of the cynical use that the Hamas terror organization makes of the residents of the Gaza Strip as a human shield,” said Hagari. The cache, located near a health clinic and a school, included explosives, anti-tank missiles, long-range rockets and grenades. Some of the ordnance was disposed of on site and some sent for further investigation.

4:00 am: Turkey’s Erdogan warns Israel of ‘heavy price’ for chasing Hamas in Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has delivered a strong warning against Israel following Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar’s comments on chasing down Hamas leaders in Turkey, saying the Middle Eastern country will pay a “heavy price” if it does so.

“They will pay a very, very heavy price for this,” he said. “If they dare to take such a step against Turkey, they will pay the price in a way that [they] will not be able to get back on their feet again. Those who attempt such a thing should remember that the consequences can be extremely serious.” Ezgi Akin reports.

2:22 am: Dozens killed across Gaza in ongoing Israeli bombardment

Dozens of Palestinians have been killed as Israel ramps up its bombardment of various areas across the Gaza Strip, the WAFA news agency reported. The Israeli military has intensified its attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp, which it claims houses a Hamas command center. According to WAFA, the army dropped white phosphorus munitions in the center of the camp and bombed a school where several people were sheltering, killing dozens, including women and children. Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli army said its forces raided a Hamas general security headquarters in Jabalia and seized weapons and intelligence. Heavy strikes were also reported in Gaza City and Khan Yunis in the south. According to unofficial data cited by WAFA, about 16,250 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7.

1:30 am: Iran-linked group claims drone attack against Iraqi base housing US troops

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of several Iraqi armed factions with close ties to Iran, claimed to have hit the Ain al-Assad air base hosting US forces in Iraq’s western Anbar province. In a statement posted on its Telegram channel, the group said the attack was in response to the US support for Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip. US military positions in Syria and Iraq have come under a series of attacks by Iran-backed groups since the Hamas-Israel war erupted. On Sunday, US Central Command said five militants who were preparing to launch a drone attack near Kirkuk were killed.

Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023

2:50 pm: Netanyahu says Gaza must be demilitarized after war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference Tuesday evening that "Gaza must be demilitarized after the war,” adding, “No international force can be responsible for that." Netanyahu did not offer details on how he thinks this would be done.

Also at the press conference, Netanyahu said the Israeli military has so far eliminated "about half of Hamas' battalion commanders." He added that Israel's military aims in Gaza and the humanitarian effort in the enclave do not contradict one another. “If a change needs to be made, we'll do it," he said.

2:16 pm: Pentagon reviews Amnesty report that US-made bombs hit civilians

The Pentagon is reviewing a report published by Amnesty International on Tuesday that found Israel dropped US-made munitions in two separate strikes on civilian homes in Gaza, spokesperson Pat Ryder told reporters.

Ryder did not say what office was reviewing the evidence.

Fragments bearing identifying marks of US-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions were recovered at the scene of two airstrikes, which Amnesty described as “unlawful airstrikes on homes full of civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip,” calling for a war crime investigation.

The strikes killed a total of 43 civilians, including 19 children and 14 women, Amnesty reported.

12:30 pm: US announces visa ban policy for Israel’s extremist West Bank settlers

The State Department has announced a new visa policy targeting Israeli settlers attacking and displacing Palestinians in the West Bank amid an uptick in settler violence against Palestinians since Oct. 7. Elizabeth Hagedorn reports.

11:50 am: Two Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza Strip

Two more Israeli soldiers were killed during fighting in the Gaza Strip, bringing the toll of the ground operation to 82, said Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari. The IDF Central Command described the last 24 hours as “especially significant,” with troops fighting Hamas attackers in hundreds of incidents and reaching the city of Khan Yunis in the south.

10:30 am: US-Israel rift grows over Gaza war timeline

Sources told Al-Monitor that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken conveyed a different timeline from what Israel had in mind to end the war. Ben Caspit has an exclusive report on the widening rift.

7:20 am: Gazans have nowhere to go as Israel widens offensive in south

As Israel presses with its ground and air offensive in the southern Gaza Strip, the UN and rights organizations are expressing concerns over the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe. The World Health Organization has warned of southern hospitals collapsing as they struggle with the increasing numbers of injured. The Israeli army has ordered the residents of Khan Yunis to evacuate further north, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to “concentrate into what is less than one-third of the Gaza Strip,” according to UNRWA. Beatrice Farhat reports.

6:48 am: Israeli forces storm Khan Yunis

Israeli tanks entered the eastern parts of Khan Younis in southern Gaza through the border fence with Israel and advanced toward the west, according to residents cited by Reuters, for the first time since Israel launched its assault on the south last Friday. In a post on its Telegram channel, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, claimed to have struck two Israeli tanks in the east of Khan Yunis and said its forces have killed several Israeli soldiers. The Israeli army has yet to comment on the claim. Israel resumed its offensive on the Gaza Strip last week after the collapse of a temporary cease-fire, focusing on the south, where it claims the Hamas leadership is hiding.

6:42 am: Hezbollah, Israeli army trade fire along Israel-Lebanon border

The Israeli army struck several positions belonging to the Hezbollah movement in south Lebanon in response to fire toward northern Israel, the military said in a statement. Fighter jets struck “terrorist infrastructure and military posts used for weapons storage and by terrorist operatives,” according to the statement.

The Iran-backed movement earlier claimed to have achieved “direct hits” on an Israeli military site in the Ruwaisa al-Asi area. The National News Agency reported Israeli artillery shelling in several areas in south Lebanon. The two parties have been engaged in tit-for-tat exchanges along the Israel-Lebanon border since the war in Gaza erupted Oct. 7.

5:32 am: US aid chief arrives in Egypt

USAID Administrator Samantha Power arrived in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula with an aid shipment of 36,000 pounds of food assistance and medical supplies to be delivered to the Gaza Strip, the agency announced. A USAID spokesperson told Reuters that Power is expected to announce a $21 million aid package to the Palestinians.

Concerns are growing about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has expanded its offensive and entered the southern areas of the Strip, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are concentrated. “More must be done to protect civilians and accelerate the pace of life-saving assistance reaching the people of Gaza,” Power said in a post on X.

4:00 am: France freezes Sinwar's assets for six months

France said it is freezing the assets of Gaza-based Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for a period of six months, AFP reported Tuesday morning. The decree, which came into effect Tuesday.

Last month, Secretary of State Laurence Boone called for European financial sanctions against senior Hamas officials. On Nov. 13, the French Finance Ministry said it would freeze the assets of Hamas military branch commander Mohammed Deif for six months.