UN approves cease-fire resolution for Gaza
Netanyahu cancels delegation’s DC trip after US abstains from vote
WASHINGTON − The United Nations Security Council approved a resolution Monday demanding an immediate cease-fire in Israel’s war in Gaza during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and the unconditional release of all hostages from Gaza after the U.S. abstained from voting.
The U.S., a steadfast ally of Israel during its war in Gaza, allowed the resolution to move forward by abstaining, making it the first cease-fire resolution to pass the council since the Israel-Hamas war began. The 14 other member nations voted to approve the resolution.
Efforts to pass similar cease-fire resolutions had failed four times − three vetoed by the Biden administration.
“Our vote does not − and I repeat that, does not − represent a shift in our policy,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters shortly after the vote.
Netanyahu halting meeting in US
The abstention was met with strong resistance by the Israeli government.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel will no longer send a delegation that had planned to meet with Biden administration officials in Washington, D.C., this week as Israel moves toward a military operation in Rafah in southern Gaza.
“It’s certainly not ideal that they won’t be coming to D.C.,” Kirby said of the full delegation, but noted that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is already in Washington and the White House has every expectation that Rafah will come up during their conversations.
A veteran Israeli minister who joined Netanyahu’s emergency unity government after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack said Monday he had resigned after not being included in the highest-level war cabinet.
Gideon Saar joined the unity government along with several other members of the opposition to help manage the war on Hamas in Gaza.
Saar’s departure, along with another of his allies, is not expected to affect the stability of Netanyahu’s government, which still controls a clear majority in parliament.
Saar was once a rival to Netanyahu in the right-wing Likud party before joining a more centrist bloc led by former military chief Benny Gantz. Together they entered the emergency government. Gantz became a member of the small-forum, decision-making war cabinet while Saar was left out.
“I can’t carry the responsibility if I do not have, in my judgment, a real possibility to influence the direction of policy. I simply do not see any benefit in this,” Saar said in broadcast remarks.
His resignation did not come as a surprise, as Saar had broken up the alliance with Gantz earlier this month.
Why did the US abstain?
Ramadan started March 10 and ends April 9.
Most recently, Russia and China had objected to a U.S.-led resolution Friday for an “immediate and sustained ceasefire” that also condemned Hamas for the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield cited the latest resolution’s lack of language condemning Hamas as the primary reason the U.S. did not vote in its favor. She blamed Hamas for the failure to achieve a cease-fire agreement, which has been under negotiation for weeks.
“However, as I’ve said before, we fully support some of the critical objectives in this nonbinding resolution,” Thomas-Greenfield said, “and we believe it was important for the council to speak out and make clear that our cease-fire − any cease-fire − must come with the release of all hostages.”
Guterres: Let aid into Gaza
António Guterres, secretary-general of the U.N, applauded the action on the “long-awaited resolution on Gaza” that also emphasizes “the urgent need to expand the flow” of aid into Gaza.
“This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable,” Guterres
said in a statement. “It is absolutely essential to have a massive supply of humanitarian aid now.”
The Biden administration has become increasingly at odds with Netanyahu over efforts to get humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians.
Netanyahu has refused Biden’s demand for a two-state solution to the Middle East crisis and has pledged to continue the war in Gaza until Hamas is crushed.
Rafah, the last refuge for about half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population after many people arrived in search of shelter after being displaced by fighting elsewhere, came under heavy fire in the latest Israeli attacks, witnesses said.
Palestinian medics said 30 people had been killed in the previous 24 hours in Rafah, where Israel is planning a ground assault to eliminate what it says are Palestinian militant cells there.
“The past 24 hours were one of the worst days since we moved in to Rafah,” said Abu Khaled, a father of seven who declined to give his full name for fear of reprisals.
“In Rafah, we live in fear, we are hungry, we are homeless and our future is unknown. With no ceasefire in sight, we might end up dead or displaced somewhere else, maybe north and maybe south (to Egypt),” he told Reuters via a chat app.
Dozens of Palestinians took part in rallies and attended funerals early on Monday after an Israeli airstrike killed 18 Palestinians in one house in Deir AlBalah in central Gaza, medics and witnesses said.
Israeli forces were also besieging AlAmal and Nasser hospitals in the southern city of Khan Younis, Palestinian witnesses said, a week after entering Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City, the main hospital in the Gaza Strip.
U.S.-backed mediation by Qatar and Egypt has so far failed to secure agreement on a cease-fire and prisoner-hostage swap between Israel and Hamas, and international concerns about famine are increasing.
“We see a growing consensus emerging in the international community to tell the Israelis that the ceasefire is needed,” Guterres said in Jordan.
Contributing: Reuters
Craft retailer Joann filed for bankruptcy last week.
A hub for fabrics and other crafting goods, the company said in a news release that it planned to keep operating its 829 stores.
The company announced it would take itself private as part of this, as early as April, with shares being dropped from stock exchanges.
“JOANN’s stores and the JOANN.com website will remain open and continue operating as normal and customers vendors, landlords, and other trade creditors will not see any disruption in services,” the company said in the release.
Here’s what you need about the filing:
to know
Where are Joann stores in Wisconsin and Milwaukee?
The company has four locations in the Milwaukee area and 23 in Wisconsin. The Milwaukee-area locations are in Greenfield, Cudahy, Brookfield and Menomonee Falls.
A woman walks back to her vehicle after reading a sign stating JOANN Fabrics and Crafts was closed due to the coronavirus situation on April 1, 2020, in Grand Chute, Wis.
Brookfield: 16800 W. Bluemound
●
Rd.
● Cudahy: 5656 S. Packard Ave.
● Greenfield: 4950 S. 74th St.
● Menomonee Falls: N78 W14531 Appleton Ave.
A full list of the other Wisconsin locations can be found on the company’s website.
Stores to operate normally
Of the more than 800 stores the company runs, 95% are cash-flow positive, said Scott Sekella, the company’s chief financial officer, in the news release. The company’s stores won’t see any disruptions, nor will vendors, landlords or creditors, it said.
The company also said it expected its financial debt to reduce by about $500 million, after receiving $132 million in “new financing and related financial accommodations.” According to USA TODAY, the company has about $1 billion in total debt.
Monday’s bankruptcy filing was met favorably by markets, with Joann’s stock price rising 15% in response, according to financial website InvestorPlace.
How long has JoAnn been around?
Joann, which opened in 1943, is based in Hudson, Ohio, and operates stores in 49 states.
The Washington Post reported that the filing came as the retailer has faced low sales in response to online retailers.
USA TODAY noted it’s not the first time Joann has gone private.
The national outlet said that the company went private in 2011, after an equity firm purchased it for about $1.6 billion.
That same equity firm took it public in 2021. Craft retailer Joann files for bankruptcy. What it means for its Wisconsin stores