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At UN, US warns Israel against forcible displacement, starvation in Gaza

Report by global experts says famine imminent in northern Gaza

The United States stressed at the United Nations on Tuesday that "there must be no forcible displacement, nor policy of starvation in Gaza" by Israel, warning such policies would have grave implications under US and international law.

The remarks by US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield came just hours after Washington said its ally Israel was doing enough to address the humanitarian crisis in Israel to avoid facing potential restrictions on US military aid.

"Still, Israel must ensure its actions are fully implemented - and its improvements sustained over time," Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council.

It was also urgently important that Israel pause implementation of a law banning the operation of the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, she added.

The council met over a report by global hunger experts that said there was a "strong likelihood that famine is imminent in areas" of northern Gaza as Israel pursues a military offensive against Palestinian militant group Hamas in the area.

"Most of Gaza is now a wasteland of rubble," acting UN aid chief Joyce Msuya told the council. "As I brief you, Israeli authorities are blocking humanitarian assistance from entering North Gaza, where fighting continues, and around 75,000 people remain with dwindling water and food supplies," she said.

Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon rejected the famine warning by the global hunger experts as "simply false" and outlined efforts by Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

"I urge each of you to consider the facts. Look closely at Israel's actions on the ground. Consider the risks our soldiers take to uphold these humanitarian commitments, often in the face of active threats," Danon told the council.

Slovenia's UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar said the Security Council needed to take action.

"More than a year into the war, we cannot accept assurances implying that everything possible is being done for protection of civilian population in Gaza. This is simply not true," he told the council.

The UN Security Council is currently discussing a draft resolution that "demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire to be respected by all parties" in Gaza.

It also "demands the facilitation of full, rapid, safe and unhindered entry of humanitarian assistance at scale to and throughout the Gaza Strip and its delivery to all Palestinian civilians who need it."

The text was drafted by the elected 10 members of the council, who began negotiating with the permanent five veto-wielding members - Russia, China, the U.S., Britain and France - at the beginning of November.

Russia and China on Tuesday backed the draft text and called for it to be put to a vote as soon as possible. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes to pass.