I haven’t written in a while because I’ve been settling back into university life here in Toronto.‚  A lot has happened since my last post, especially in Gaza.

A couple of days ago a ceasefire was announced so aid could be given to the scores of injured civilians in Gaza. The UN came in to give aid, but announced today that they would pull out workers after some were killed by Israel airstrikes and tank fire.

One member of Unrwa, the UN’s top aid agency, was killed and two were injured by Israeli tank fire. The UN says the movements of the truck had been cleared with Israeli military and authorities.

Unrwa spokesman Chris Gunness says the suspension of aid will continue until “the Israeli authorities can guarantee our safety and security.” He also said the decision to suspend aid comes with “great regret.”

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said, in response to Guiness’s words, that Israel is in high favor of the UN’s aid. Sure.

It’s pretty outrageous that they’d fire at aid workers, who were clearly distinguishable as such, with no real reason, especially after they’d cleared their movements with the military.

The UN recently called for an immediate ceasefire, a statement the U.S., France and the UK oppose.‚  The three superpowers wanted the UN to make a weaker statement, the BBC reports. Taking a real stance, especially one against Israel would be way too risky for any of the three countries.

Arab foreign ministers have said that anything less than a binding resolution to the conflict between Israel and Hamas would not do any good.

That’s something I’ve been stressing for a while, the UN just calling for them to stop killing Palestinians isn’t going to stop anything. Though a public call for a ceasefire is obviously necessary, we all know it won’t solve the conflict.

Nearly 800 Palestinians have died since Israel launched its offensive 13 days ago.

On a more local note, the 48 Canadians that were formerly trapped in Gaza are safe now.

About The Author

Sachin Seth is the Blast Magazine world news reporter. He writes the Terra blog. You can visit his website at http://sachinseth.com or follow him on twitter @sachinseth

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