The Israeli army said on Friday that its soldiers are in the middle of Rafah as part of their growing attack in the southern Gaza city.
Israel sent its soldiers into the city on May 6. This made about 1 million Palestinians leave the city and made the UN’s help in that area very difficult. However, President Joe Biden said Israel has not fully invaded as he has advised them not to.
The Israeli military said on Friday that its forces have been active in many areas of the city. In the beginning, Israel attacked Rafah’s eastern neighborhoods and areas near the Egypt border. Israeli soldiers took control of the border crossing into Egypt on the first day of the attack and have also taken over a road that runs along the Gaza-Egypt border on the Gaza side.
This week, Israeli soldiers went into Rafah’s western area called Tel al-Sultan. There were big fights with Hamas fighters there. People saw it happen.
On Friday, the military said its soldiers in central Rafah found Hamas rocket launchers and tunnels. They also destroyed a place where the group stored weapons. It didn’t say exactly where in central Rafah the operations were happening, but earlier reports and people who saw it happen said it was in the Shaboura refugee camp and other places near the city center.
Israel says it’s important to attack Rafah to stop Hamas fighters in its campaign to destroy the group after they attacked southern Israel on Oct 7th.
Palestinian people who left the city are now living in poor tent camps in southern and central Gaza. Approximately 300,000 people are still in the area. Some are in the middle of the city. A UN official said this but asked not to say their name because they are not allowed to talk to the press. Shaina Low, who speaks for the Norwegian Refugee Council, a group that helps people in need, said that many people have gone to live in the countryside in the west of the city near the coast. This area has been hit by Israeli attacks and bombings in the past week, causing deaths.
Tag: Rafah
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Israel admits its forces are in centre of Rafah as part of ongoing attack in Gaza Strip
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Israel launches an assault across Gaza by sending tanks into Rafah
Israeli tanks entered Rafah despite the World Court’s orders for a second day. The United States claimed that this was not a large-scale ground operation, even though they had warned Israel not to do it.
Israel moved its tanks into Rafah on Tuesday, even though they were told to stop attacking the city by the International Court of Justice. Many Palestinians were hiding in the city to escape the bombing.
The United States, which is very close to Israel, said again that they don’t support a big Israeli attack in Rafah. But they also said they don’t think that kind of attack is happening right now.
Rafah people said that Israeli tanks went into Tel Al-Sultan, Yibna, and near Shaboura but then went back to a safe area near the border with Egypt. This is different from attacks happening in other places.
Israel’s army controlled most of the buffer zone and wants to control it all to stop Hamas from bringing in weapons, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi.
He thought there would be more fighting in Gaza in 2024. Israel does not want to stop fighting or release prisoners.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters used weapons to fight against the invading forces. They used anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs and detonated explosive devices.
The Israeli army said three soldiers died and three others were seriously hurt in a battle in southern Gaza. They did not give any more details. Israel’s Kan radio said they were harmed by a bomb that exploded in a building in Rafah.
Health officials in the Palestinian territories said that some people were hurt by Israeli shooting in the eastern part of Rafah and supplies of aid were burned. People who live here said that Israel bombed the area a lot last night and many homes were destroyed. Most people have left because Israel told them to go.
Some people saw robotic tanks shooting guns in the city.
The internet and cell phone service went out in some parts of the east and west due to heavy bombing from Israel. This information was reported by the pro-Hamas Shehab news agency, residents, and other journalists. The Israeli military said they were not sure if the reports were true.
In the northern part of Gaza, tanks fired at some neighborhoods in Gaza City. The military also went further into Jabalia, which is the largest and oldest refugee camp in Gaza. People living there said that many homes were destroyed.
Health care is needed right away: government department.
Gaza’s health ministry said that some hospitals in areas where the army is working have stopped working. Ashraf Al-Qidra, who speaks for the group, asked for safe ways for fuel, medical supplies, and medical teams to get to Rafah and northern Gaza right away.
Qidra said that the Israeli occupation purposely destroyed the healthcare facilities in Rafah and the north and did not provide help for injured people.
About one million Palestinians who were staying in Rafah at the bottom of the Gaza Strip to hide from Israel’s attacks have now left because Israel told them to. This was reported by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA on Tuesday.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has moved its medical teams from the hospital in Al-Mawasi because there are a lot of bombs and artillery in that area.
The World Court said on Friday that Israel did not say how it would keep the people from Rafah safe or give them food, water, and medicine. Israel’s leader said the order allowed the military to take action against Hamas fighters in that area.
In the city of Khan Younis, an Israeli air strike killed three people last night. One of them was Salama Baraka, who used to be a high-ranking police officer in Hamas. Doctors and Hamas media reported this.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said that one of its workers, Issam Aqel, was killed when an Israeli air strike hit his house in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. This brings the total number of staff killed since October 7 to 30, with at least 17 of them being killed while working.
Israel gave their new plan for stopping fighting and releasing hostages to Qatar, and Qatar was supposed to give it to Hamas on Tuesday, according to someone who knows about the situation. Hamas has not said anything yet on Wednesday. They said that there is no point in talking unless Israel stops its attack on Rafah.
More than 36,000 Palestinians have died in Israel’s attacks on Gaza, according to the health ministry in the area.
Israel started a war after militants from Hamas attacked communities in southern Israel on Oct 7. About 1,200 people were killed and over 250 hostages were taken, according to Israeli reports.
Many people in Gaza don’t have enough food because not enough aid is getting through. Aid agencies say Israel is stopping them from delivering food, but Israel says the agencies are to blame.
The aid pier built by the US military off Gaza’s coast broke because of bad weather, so it can’t be used for a while. This is another setback for aid efforts in the area. Two US officials reported this on Tuesday. -
3 Israeli troops murdered by a booby trap explosion in Rafah
Three soldiers died in Rafah, according to the Israeli military on Wednesday. Israeli news said that a booby trap exploded on Tuesday, which killed some soldiers and injured three others. The military says that at least 290 soldiers have died since the ground operation in Gaza started in October.
Israel is doing some small actions in eastern Rafah near the border between Gaza and Egypt. People in Rafah, a border town, said there was a lot of fighting on Wednesday. Israeli forces are attacking the town, which used to be a safe place for Palestinians. The US and other countries have told Israel not to launch a big attack on the city.
Israeli leaders say their soldiers need to go into Rafah to stop Hamas and free the hostages from the Oct 7 attack that started the war.
The fighting in Rafah has made over 1 million Palestinians leave their homes. Many of them were already forced to leave because of the war between Israel and Hamas. The UN says that many people who have fled the war now live in dirty tent camps and other areas that are destroyed by the war. They don’t have basic things like shelter, food, water, and other things they need to survive.
Israel’s attacks and fighting on the ground in Gaza have caused the deaths of over 36,000 Palestinians. The Health Ministry does not separate between soldiers and regular people.
Israel started a fight in Gaza because Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7. The attack killed around 1,200 people, mostly innocent people, and kidnapped about 250 others. Israel says about 100 people are still being held against their will in Gaza, and there are also around 30 dead bodies that have not been returned.
Three soldiers died in Rafah from the fighting in Gaza, the Israeli military said on Wednesday.
Israeli news said that some soldiers died and got hurt on Tuesday when a trap exploded.
Palestinians said there was a lot of fighting in different parts of Rafah on Wednesday. Israel is making a bigger attack, causing over 1 million people to leave the city. Most people were forced to leave their homes before the war started.
Israel went into Rafah on May 6 to stop Hamas from bringing weapons into Gaza from Egypt. They said they only went a little way into the area. It means that Rafah is the final big area where Hamas is really strong, but the fighters have also gathered in other parts of Gaza.
The military says that around 290 soldiers have died since the ground operation in Gaza started in October.
Urgent help needed in Gaza.
The Red Cross and Red Crescent are asking for a stop to fighting and for help to reach the people in Gaza who are suffering. This is needed to help civilians who are stuck in the conflict.
“It’s really important,” said IFRC President Kate Forbes in an interview with The Associated Press in the Philippine capital, Manila, where she was going to have some meetings. “First, the government needs to find a way to stop the fighting so we can help both sides with aid. ”“Some places need help with mental and emotional support, and in others, they need urgent assistance,” said Forbes, who became the leader of the world’s biggest network for helping people in December.
“I’ve said that this is like a fast race and a long race. ” “We need to quickly get help in Gaza for people who are malnourished and don’t have proper sanitation,” she said. “It’s going to take a long time and a lot of help to fix Gaza and help the people there. “ -
Tanks move into Rafah’s centre as Israel continues its attack in spite of global criticism
Israeli tanks went into the middle of Rafah for the first time on Tuesday, according to an eye witnesses. This happened three weeks after a ground operation started in the southern Gaza city. Many people around the world have criticized this operation.
The people saw the tanks near the Al-Awda mosque in Rafah, and they told Reuters. The Israeli military said its soldiers are still working in the Rafah area, but they didn’t say anything about whether they have moved into the city center.
During the night, the military attacked the city with airstrikes and tank fire, even though many people were upset about a previous attack on Sunday that caused a fire in a tent camp, killing at least 45 Palestinians, mostly children, women, and elderly people.
Since the strike, at least 26 more people have been killed by Israeli gunfire in Rafah, according to officials in the area controlled by Hamas militants.
Israeli tanks moved towards the western neighborhoods and positioned themselves on the Zurub hilltop in western Rafah. It was one of the most intense nights of bombing reported by the people who live there. On Tuesday, people saw fighting with guns between Israeli soldiers and fighters led by Hamas in the Zurub area.
People in Rafah saw the Israeli military bringing in armored vehicles that can be operated from far away. There were no soldiers nearby them. An Israeli army representative did not have an answer right away.
Israel started moving into the border area with Egypt three weeks ago. Tanks went near Rafah and some even went into parts of the eastern districts, but they haven’t gone into the city with full power yet.
Global leaders are saying that there was an attack on Sunday night in a camp where families who had been moved from other places in Gaza had gone for safety. They are asking for the World Court’s order to be followed to stop Israel’s attack.
People who live in Tel Al-Sultan area said that the area where the deadly strike happened on Sunday is still being heavily bombed.
“Bombs are dropping all over Tel Al-Sultan. ” A person who lives in western Rafah said that many families had to leave their homes because there was a lot of shooting happening all night. They spoke about it on a chat app to Reuters.
About one million people have left Rafah because of the Israeli attack since the beginning of May, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Israel is still attacking despite a decision by the highest UN court to tell them to stop. They say the court’s decision allows them to use military force there.
Spain, Ireland, and Norway will say they accept Palestine as its own country on Tuesday. Israel is not happy about it and feels like it is alone after the long fight in Gaza.
The three countries say they made their decision to help stop the fighting between Israel and Hamas and make a ceasefire happen faster.
Israel attacked Palestine and more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Israel started the operation because the Hamas-led militants attacked some towns in southern Israel on Oct 7. They killed about 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages, according to Israel.
Israel wants to find and remove Hamas fighters hiding in Rafah and save people who are being held as hostages there. -
Israel on the verge of approving the plan to reunite Gaza before to Rafah incursion – Miller
The Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, said that Israel was about to approve a plan to help Palestinian relatives of Canadians leave the Gaza Strip. But then Israel invaded the town of Rafah, and the plan was put on hold.
“On Monday, Miller told the House immigration committee that we have tried really hard, but have not been very successful.”
“We will keep trying to bring our family members to a safe place. ”
He made the comments when people were getting more and more unhappy about the rules put in place a few months ago. The rules were supposed to help Canadians bring their family members from dangerous places in the Gaza Strip and Sudan.
Miller said on Monday that they will process more applications for people leaving Gaza. But they’re not sure if any Palestinians have come to Canada using this program.
The Gaza program at first only allowed 1,000 applications to be accepted for processing. This means that all the necessary paperwork had to be completed before biometric processing in Egypt. Miller says that as of May 24, 2,903 applications had reached that point.
Miller has now increased that number to 5,000 applications, and each application can have many family members included.
The department has given 179 permits to people from Gaza through the temporary-resident program as of April 29, but it’s not clear if anyone has come to Canada yet.
The NDP says the government messed up the Gaza and Sudan programs and didn’t learn from problems with helping Afghans after the Taliban took over Kabul.
Family in Canada say they received confusing information from the government in Ottawa about the program. This caused some people to miss the opportunity to leave Rafah using other methods.
A document received through a request for information shows that the Immigration Department thought there would be a lot of applications for the program, even though only 1,000 people were allowed to apply.
In December, Miller signed a memo that said only 1,000 people should come, but we expect a lot more than that.
The memo says that in the 2021 census, 45,905 Canadians identified as having Palestinian background.
Miller said that the program he started in January needs help from the Israeli government agency that organizes work in Palestinian territories, called COGAT. He said this never happened for many months.
“Not long ago, we have received some good signs from the Israeli government that they would recognize this program and process it through COGAT in a timely manner,” said Miller, until the Rafah crossing closed on May 7.
Rafah is a town on the border with Egypt. It’s the only way for people to leave Gaza, but they have to follow strict rules from Israel and Egypt. It has become a safe place for Palestinians escaping attacks by Israel in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Three weeks ago, Israel started an attack in Rafah, even though Canada, the US, and many other countries asked them not to. Israel is saying that Rafah has become an important place for Hamas, a group that has killed many people in Israel. Israel wants to control Rafah to stop Hamas.
On Sunday, people all over the world were very upset after seeing terrible pictures of injured children from bombings and fires in camps where homeless people live. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says that 36,000 people, including fighters, have died in the war.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly repeated her request for a break in fighting on Monday.
“We are very upset about the attacks that killed Palestinian civilians in Rafah,” she wrote on platform X. “We must stop this level of human suffering. ”
The Sudan program allows people to live in the country forever, while the Gaza program only allows residency for up to three years. This is because Israel does not want to seem like it is taking over the Palestinian area again.
“He said it’s really important to think about the politics of the region, especially the talk about Gaza getting emptied, and how it would look if Canada got involved in that. ” “That’s mainly why we didn’t make it last forever. ”
Last spring, there was a war in Sudan. Miller said his relatives might not come to Canada until late fall.
Family members say that officials have mentioned that there have been delays with getting fingerprints and other biometric information. However, Miller said that the Sudan program is more extensive because it includes permanent residency.
Miller said that Ottawa will be taking in 3,250 applications from the Sudan program, and around 7,000 people will be coming to Canada.
He said the number is based on how many things his department and “security partners” can handle, but it might increase. -
Isreal’s Netanyahu admits missile strike in Rafah was a “tragic mistake”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that a “very sad mistake” had happened after an Israeli attack in southern Gaza caused a fire at a camp where Palestinians who had to leave their homes were staying. Local officials said at least 45 people died.
The error made the criticism towards Israel even stronger internationally because of its war with Hamas. Even its best friends are angry about innocent people dying. Israel says it follows the rules of world law even though it is being watched closely by the top courts. One of the courts recently told Israel to stop their attack in Rafah.
Israel’s army said it is looking into the deaths of civilians after hitting a Hamas base and killing two important fighters. The attack on Sunday night was one of the worst in the war. It increased the total number of Palestinian deaths to over 36,000. The Gaza Health Ministry counts all deaths, whether they are fighters or not.
“Netanyahu said on Monday that, despite trying very hard not to hurt innocent civilians, a terrible mistake happened last night. ” “We are looking into what happened and will figure out what happened because that is our rule. ”
Mohammed Abuassa quickly went to the neighborhood of Tel al-Sultan in the northwest and said that people were in very bad shape when rescuers found them.
“We saved kids who were really hurt. ” We removed both young and old people. He said the fire at the camp wasn’t real.
At least 45 people died, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and the Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service. The government said that at least 12 women, eight children, and three older adults were found dead, and three more bodies were burned so badly that they could not be identified.
In other news, Egypt’s army said that one of its soldiers was killed in a shooting in the Rafah area, but didn’t give more information. Israel and Egypt are talking to each other and looking into something together.
Rafah, the southern city on the border of Gaza and Egypt, had more than a million people living there. That’s about half of the population of Gaza, who had to leave their homes and move to Rafah. Many people have left because Israel entered the area earlier this month. Thousands and thousands of people are living in dirty and overcrowded tent camps in and around the city.
Netanyahu says Israel needs to defeat what he calls the last of Hamas’ soldiers in Rafah. The fighters shot many rockets from the city towards the busy central part of Israel on Sunday. This made the air raid alarms go off, but no one got hurt.
The attack on Rafah was strongly condemned, even by Israel’s biggest supporters.
The United States. National Security Council said that the pictures from the attack on Rafah are really sad. -
Shooting near border of Rafah kills an Egyptian guard
An Egypt security officer has been shot and killed near the Rafah border crossing. The military is now investigating the incident.
Israel’s army is looking into reports of the gunfire between Israeli and Egyptian soldiers.
“A shooting happened on the Egyptian border a few hours ago on Monday. ” The situation is being looked into and talks are happening with the Egyptians, the Israeli military said in a statement.
Israel took over the Rafah border crossing from Gaza recently while they were fighting in the area. Egypt didn’t like this and said it was wrong.
Egypt is afraid that the people in southern Gaza might have to leave because of the attack. They also say that Israel is not letting enough aid get to Gaza, but Israel says this is not true.
Egypt and Israel agreed to stop fighting in 1979 and started working together to keep their borders safe. They especially focus on the areas between Israel, Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and the Gaza Strip. They together stopped things from going in or out of Gaza after Hamas took over in 2007.
There have been very few times when there were problems with safety between the two countries.
In October 2023, two weeks after the war in Gaza began, Israel said one of its tanks accidentally hit an Egyptian position near the Gaza border. Egypt said that some Egyptian border guards got hurt, but not badly.
In June 2023, three soldiers from Israel and one security officer from Egypt were killed in a fight at the border. -
45 killed in Israeli attack on Rafah tent camp, sparking international outrage
The tent camp in Gaza city was hit by an Israeli bombing, resulting in a large fire that resulted in the deaths of 45 people.This made leaders from around the world angry and they are asking for a World Court decision to stop Israel’s attack.
Families in Palestine are going to the hospital to get their dead ready for burial after a strike set their tents on fire. This has been happening for eight months since the war started.
“Bassam, who lives in Rafah, said on a chat app that Israel is burning down Rafah and no one is trying to stop it. ”
Israeli tanks kept shooting at the eastern and central parts of the city in southern Gaza on Monday. Eight people were killed, according to local health officials.
Israel’s military said that they carried out an air attack on Sunday and they were confident that they hit the leader of the militant group Hamas in the West Bank, as well as another official responsible for attacking Israelis.
On Sunday, it was reported that eight rockets were stopped from hitting their target after being launched from the Rafah area. A minister said that we still need to keep fighting against Hamas.
Israel’s main military lawyer said the air strike was very serious and they are looking into it.
“The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) feels sorry for any innocent people who were hurt during the war,” stated Major-General Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi at a conference on Monday.
The attack happened in the Tel Al-Sultan neighborhood where many people were staying safe because Israeli soldiers started a ground attack in the east of Rafah over two weeks ago.
Health officials in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, said that more than half of the people who died were women, children, and old people. They also said that more people might die because they are critically ill with severe burns from the fire.
Israel keeps attacking Rafah even though the top UN court told them to stop. They say the court’s ruling allows them to still use military force there.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he was very angry about Israel’s recent attacks. Stop these operations. “There are no safe places in Rafah for Palestinian people,” he said on X.
Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock and the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the decision of the International Court of Justice must be followed and honored. “International rules for helping people in need apply to everyone, including Israel’s actions during the war,” Baerbock said.
No place that is safe.
During the day, the camp looked like a mess with burnt tents and twisted metal.
Abed Mohammed Al-Attar said Israel lied about keeping people safe in Rafah’s western areas while sitting next to his relatives’ bodies. His brother, his brother’s wife, and many other family members died in the fire.
The army tells lies. Gaza is not safe. No one is safe, not even kids, old people, or women. “He’s with his wife, they were murdered,” he said.
“Why did this happen to them. Their kids have no parents now. ”
Rafah hospitals and the Red Cross hospital were full, so some injured people were taken to hospitals in Khan Younis for help.
The organization that helps Palestinian refugees at the United Nations said the situation was really terrible. Gaza is a very difficult place to live. Pictures from last night show once again that this is true,” UNRWA wrote on X.
Israel has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians in their attack, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Israel started the operation because militants from Hamas attacked some towns in southern Israel on Oct 7. About 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage, according to Israel.
Israel wants to find and remove Hamas fighters hiding in Rafah and save people who are being kept as hostages in the area.
But it is criticized worldwide for not protecting innocent people.
“Ireland’s Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said it was very cruel to see the lack of food and refusal to allow enough help, on top of the hunger and starvation. ”
Egypt criticized the Israeli military for purposely bombing the shelters of displaced people. They said it breaks international law.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar both criticized the Israeli attack. Qatar also said that the attack might make it harder to reach a ceasefire and exchange hostages.
Israeli tanks have been moving close to the edge of Rafah, near the crossing from Gaza to Egypt, since May 6. They have also gone into some of the eastern parts of Rafah. -
Israeli airstrikes kill 22 people in Rafah, Gaza
Palestinian doctors have said that an Israeli airstrike killed at least 22 people on Sunday. It hit tents where people had to leave their homes in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Many other people were stuck under the rubble.
The strike happened two days after the International Court of Justice told Israel to stop its military attack in Rafah. Many people from Gaza were staying in Rafah before Israel’s recent invasion. Many people are still there while many others have left.
Video from the area showed a lot of damage and fire. There was no specific information about the target right away. The Israeli army said they did not know anything was happening in the area. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited Rafah on Sunday to learn about the ongoing military operations there.
A person from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said more people might die as they keep looking for and rescuing people in Rafah’s Tal al-Sultan area. It’s about two kilometers northwest of the city center.
The society said Israel marked the location as a “humanitarian area. ” The neighborhood is part of the areas Israel’s military told people to leave earlier this month.
The airstrike happened a few hours after Hamas fired many rockets from Gaza. The rockets set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv, which hadn’t happened in a long time. This shows that Hamas is strong and determined, even after Israel’s big attack that has been going on for seven months.
There haven’t been any reports of people getting hurt in the first rocket attack from Gaza in a long time. Hamas’ soldiers said they did the attack. Palestinian fighters have sometimes shot rockets and mortars at towns near the Gaza border. Today, the military part of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization said it shot rockets at nearby towns.
The Israeli army said that eight rockets came from Rafah and crossed into Israel. The military stopped some of the missiles, according to a military spokesperson. Daniel Hagari said that the launcher in Rafah was broken.
On Sunday, trucks with aid went into Gaza from southern Israel using a new agreement. This allows them to avoid the Rafah crossing with Egypt because Israeli forces took control of the Palestinian side of it earlier this month. But it wasn’t right away known if charity groups could get to the help because of the fighting.
Egypt does not want to open the Rafah crossing until Palestinians have control of the Gaza side again. It decided to temporarily send traffic through Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing, which is Gaza’s main cargo terminal, after a talk between US President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
The Kerem Shalom crossing has been mostly closed because of Israel’s attack in Rafah. Israel said it let hundreds of trucks in, but the United Nations says it’s too dangerous to get the aid.
The UN leader’s spokesperson said that because the humanitarian operation is close to failing, the Israeli authorities need to help bring in and deliver aid from Egypt safely at Kerem Shalom.
The fight between Israel and Hamas has caused the death of almost 36,000 Palestinians, as reported by Gaza’s Health Ministry. They have not separated civilians and fighters in their count. The Health Ministry reported that 81 people who were killed by Israeli attacks had been taken to hospitals in the last day. Israel says that civilians are dying because Hamas is hiding in neighborhoods where many people live.
About 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have left their homes. There are lots of people who are very hungry and United Nations officials are saying that some parts of the area are experiencing famine.
Hamas started the war by attacking Israel on October 7. They killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 hostages. Hamas still has about 100 people captive and the bodies of around 30 others, even though most of the others were let go during a break in fighting last year.
Israel’s leader says the country needs to capture Rafah to defeat Hamas completely. Hamas has moved to other parts of Gaza, where the military has been active. Netanyahu wants to stop them.
The fighting has made things more tense in the part of the West Bank that is controlled by Israel. The Palestinian authorities said that Israeli soldiers killed a 14-year-old boy near the town of Saeer in the southern West Bank on Sunday. The Israeli army said they had to shoot and kill a Palestinian man because he tried to stab Israeli soldiers at Beit Einun Junction.
Aid is having a hard time reaching the southern part of Gaza.
Southern Gaza hasn’t been getting much help since Israel went into Rafah on May 6. Since then, more than one million Palestinians, many of whom were already forced to leave their homes, have left the city.
Egypt’s government-controlled Al-Qahera TV showed video of trucks going into Gaza through Kerem Shalom. Khaled Zayed, the leader of the Egyptian Red Crescent in Sinai, said that on Sunday, they planned to send 200 trucks with aid and four trucks with fuel to Kerem Shalom from the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing.
Northern Gaza is getting help from Israel through two roads that Israel made open because people all over the world were very upset after Israeli attacks killed seven people who were helping with aid in April.
Every day, a few dozen trucks come into Gaza using a pier that the US made. But the pier can’t handle as many trucks as officials had hoped for – they wanted 150 trucks a day. Charitable groups say they need 600 trucks every day.
Israel arrests a man for threatening to start a rebellion.Israel’s army caught someone they think made a video where a person dressed as a soldier talks about rebelling. In the video, the man said many soldiers were prepared to ignore the defence minister’s idea that Palestinians should rule Gaza after the war. They promised to only be loyal to Netanyahu.
Hagari, who speaks for the military, said that the man is no longer doing reserve duty. The man’s name has not been made public. It was unclear where or when the video was recorded. The prime minister’s office said they don’t support any kind of military disobedience. -
Top UN court orders Israel to cease Rafah offensive
United Nations (UN)’ highest judicial authority, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has delivered a significant ruling, demanding that Israel “immediately cease its military offensive in Rafah.”
This decision supports a recent application by South Africa, which called for various actions against Israel, accusing it of escalating what they describe as a genocide.
Israel has strongly denied these accusations and indicated it would disregard any directive to stop its operations.
Government spokesperson David Mencer told the BBC: “There is no power in the world that will push us to commit a public suicide, because that’s what this is, to stop our war against Hamas.”
A Hamas spokesmansaid: “We welcome the decision of the International Court of Justice, which demands that the brutal Zionist entity [Israel] stop its aggression” in Rafah.
Reading the court’s ruling on Friday, presiding judge Nawaz Salam said that “Israel must immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate” which could bring about “the physical destruction” of the Palestinians – alluding to what constitutes genocide under international law.
Israel, he added, must also allow unimpeded access to Gaza to any UN body investigating allegations of genocide.
The ruling also reiterated a requirement for Israel to enable “unhindered provision at scale” of basic services and humanitarian aid for Gaza.
“The humanitarian situation [in Gaza] is now to be characterised as disastrous,” the ruling said.
Aid agencies and the UN say insufficient amounts of aid are reaching people in Gaza, which they say is facing famine.The UN suspended food distribution in Rafah on Tuesday because of the perilous situation there.
Israel says it has made “extensive efforts” t ensure that humanitarian aid is “flowing into Gaza”.
Judge Salam also said that the court found it “deeply troubling” that Israeli hostages were still being held by Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, and called for “their immediate and unconditional release”.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid criticised the ruling, calling it an “abject moral failure” that the ICJ did not connect their bombardment of Rafah to the release of the hostages.
He said Israel was forced to defend itself, adding: “There is no country in the world which wouldn’t defend itself against an attack like that.”
Minutes after the ruling was delivered, Israeli warplanes launched a series of airstrikes on the Shaboura camp in central Rafah.
A local activist at Kuwait Hospital nearby informed the BBC that the intensity of the raids prevented rescue teams from reaching the site.
Israel commenced a long-awaited offensive in Rafah approximately three weeks ago, aiming to eliminate the remaining Hamas battalions and asserting that Israeli hostages are being held in the town.
According to the UN, over 800,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah since the offensive began, with about 1.5 million people taking refuge there from conflicts elsewhere in Gaza.
The hearing is part of a case initiated by South Africa at the ICJ in December, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. The case remains ongoing.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza began after Hamas gunmen attacked Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking 252 hostages back to Gaza.
Since then, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reports that at least 35,800 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict.
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Rafah in Gaza become more miserable as Israeli forces continue their operation
The United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees said that 360,000 Palestinians have left Rafah in the past week. Before the operation started, there were 1.3 million people living there, and most of them had already left because of the fighting between Israel and Hamas.
Israel has said that Rafah is the last place where the militant group is strong, ignoring warnings from the United States and other friends that any big attack there would be really bad for regular people. Hamas has again gathered in some of the parts of Gaza that were badly damaged by Israel’s attacks, even though Israel had said they had removed Hamas from those areas.
Aid workers are having a hard time giving out less and less food and other things to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who had to leave their homes because of what Israel says is a small military action in Rafah. The two main entrances to the southern Gaza city are still closed.
On Monday, Abeer Etefa from the World Food Program said that 38 trucks of flour came through the Western Erez Crossing to northern Gaza. Israel said that the crossing will be open on Sunday.
No food has gone into the main crossings in southern Gaza for a whole week.
The border between Gaza and Egypt is closed because Israeli soldiers took control of it a week ago. The fighting in Rafah city is stopping aid groups from getting to the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, even though Israel is saying that supply trucks can come in from its side.
Over the last week, the Israeli military has increased bombing and other activities in Rafah and told people to leave some areas of the city. Israel says it is doing a small operation to find and destroy tunnels and other things that militants use near the border with Egypt.
Israeli soldiers were fighting against Palestinian fighters in Zeitoun and the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. The army had already started big operations in these areas earlier in the war.
Etefa said WFP is giving out food from their last supplies in the areas of Khan Younis and Deir Balah, where many people who left Rafah have gone. In Rafah, only two groups working with WFP were still giving out food, and no bakeries were open in the city.
“She said most distributions have stopped because people had to leave their homes, move away, and no longer have enough food. ” “The situation is getting worse and we can’t keep going like this. ”
Most people in Gaza need help from humanitarian groups to get food and other things they need to live. In Gaza, about 1.1 million Palestinians are struggling with severe hunger because it’s hard to get help from Israel. Some areas in the north are even experiencing a serious famine, according to the UN.
The boss of Kuwait Hospital in Rafah said the doctors and people living nearby have been told to leave. Sohaib al-Hams said that if the hospital is evacuated, it would have very bad results.
Israel has told people in northern Gaza to leave, even though many already left at the beginning of the war.
Mahmoud Shalabi, who works for a charity in the UK, said he was told to move from Beit Lahiya to Gaza City.
“I have gone out of my house many times with my parents who are over 70 years old, my three kids and my wife,” he said. “The experience of fear and being forced to leave home is very difficult to describe. ”
The fighting started when Hamas and other fighters attacked southern Israel on Oct 7. They killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and held 250 more as hostages. Terrorists still have around 100 people as prisoners and the bodies of over 30 others, after letting go most of the others during a temporary break in fighting last year.
Israel has attacked and killed over 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. They don’t separate civilians from fighters in their count. Israel claims to have killed more than 13,000 fighters, but has not shown any proof.
Israel had a sad Memorial Day on Monday. They had ceremonies to remember the soldiers who died, including the more than 600 who were killed since Oct 7. Most of the deaths happened in the first attack.
At the beginning of the day at Mount Herzl cemetery near Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to beat Hamas.
We are committed to winning this fight. We made the enemy pay and will continue to make them pay a heavy price for their bad behavior. “We will achieve our goal of winning and bringing all our hostages back home,” he said.
On Monday at 11:00 AM, there was two minutes of silence and four fighter planes flew over Jerusalem and nearby areas. Sirens were also heard.
People who are unhappy with the country’s leaders have been protesting in the streets. They interrupted some ceremonies to show their discontent. Critics say Netanyahu is responsible for the security and intelligence mistakes that led to the attack and for not making a deal with Hamas to let the hostages go.
International talks to stop fighting and free hostages stopped last week when Israel went into Rafah. Israel said no to Hamas’ main request to stop the war and pull its forces out of the area. They think that if they do this, Hamas will take over again and do more attacks like the one on Oct 7.
Netanyahu said he will keep attacking until Israel destroys Hamas’ army and government and gets back all the hostages they took. These are the things he wants to achieve, but they haven’t happened yet. -
110,000 Palestinians forced to escape as heavy combat in Rafah, Gaza
There is a big fight between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters near the southern Gaza city of Rafah. This has made it hard for people to get help and more than 110,000 people have had to leave their homes and move north. UN officials shared this information on Friday.
There is a shortage of food and supplies because nothing is getting through the crossings, according to aid agencies.
The World Food Program will have no more food to give out in southern Gaza by Saturday, according to Georgios Petropoulos, a UN official in Rafah. Charities say there won’t be enough fuel soon. This means hospitals will have to close important services, and aid trucks won’t be able to operate in southern and central Gaza.
The United Nations and other groups have been saying for weeks that if Israel attacks Rafah, near the border with Egypt where aid comes in, it will stop aid work and cause a lot of civilians to get hurt. Over 14 million Palestinians, which is half of the people in Gaza, have been staying in Rafah. Many of them left other parts of Gaza to escape Israel’s attacks.
Intense fighting was happening in northern Gaza on Friday. Hamas was fighting back in an area where Israel had attacked before.
Israel didn’t fully invade Rafah as they had planned. The United States strongly disagrees with a big attack and is increasing pressure by saying they won’t give weapons to Israel.
The intense fighting has made the city shake and people are scared that a bigger attack is on the way. There were loud explosions and gunshots all night into Friday in the city, according to an Associated Press reporter.
The UN organization that helps refugees from Palestine, called UNRWA, said that over 110,000 people have left Rafah. Families who have moved a lot during the war are packing up to move again. A woman sat in the back of a truck with her family’s stuff, holding a cat in her arms. They were about to leave.
“The invasion hasn’t started yet, but things are already really bad,” said Raed al-Fayomi, a displaced person in Rafah. “There is no food or water. ”
People who ran away set up new tents in the city of Khan Younis, which was partially destroyed before by an Israeli attack, and the town of Deir al-Balah, making it difficult for the city’s infrastructure to handle.
The Project Hope charity said that their clinic in Deir al-Balah is seeing a lot of people from Rafah who need medical help for injuries from explosions, infections, and pregnancies. “People are leaving with nowhere to go. ” “We don’t have any homes or shelters for people to go to,” said Moses Kondowe, who leads the group’s Gaza team in Rafah.
Petropoulos said the people who help others in need didn’t have the things they needed to start working in new places. “We don’t have tents, blankets or bedding, or any other items that people on the move would normally get from humanitarian aid,” he said.
Israeli soldiers took control of the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt on Tuesday and made it close. Rafah was the main place where fuel came in.
Israel says the main cargo terminal in Gaza, Kerem Shalom crossing, is open and aid convoys are coming in. Trucks with 200,000 liters of fuel were allowed to go through the crossing on Friday.
The UN said it is not safe for workers to go to the crossing in Gaza to get the aid because of the fighting between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli soldiers are fighting with Palestinians in eastern Rafah, which is close to the border crossings. The army found some tunnels and killed the militants in direct fights and airstrikes.
Hamas’s military group said it attacked a house where Israeli soldiers were, as well as a vehicle and soldiers who were walking. The Israeli military did not make any comments.
We cannot confirm the stories from both sides of the battlefield on our own.
Hamas said it fired mortar rounds at soldiers near the Kerem Shalom crossing. The army stopped two missile launches. The crossing was shut down because Hamas attacked nearby soldiers and killed four of them last weekend.
Hamas fired rockets at Beersheeva, a southern city in Israel, on Wednesday. A woman was lightly injured by shrapnel. Israel’s military and rescue services reported this on Friday. The military said that five rockets were aimed at the city. One rocket was stopped and the rest landed in open areas. During the war, fighters in Gaza shot many rockets at Israeli cities and towns. Most of the rockets were stopped, but lately there have been fewer attacks.
Israel says that Rafah is the only place where Hamas is still strong in Gaza. Israel wants to weaken Hamas and bring back the people they captured in a recent attack that started the war.
However, Hamas has continued to come together again, even in the most severely affected areas of Gaza.
Fierce fighting started this week in the Zeitoun area near Gaza City in the north of the territory. Israel attacked the northern part of Gaza first. They had said earlier that they had mostly taken apart Hamas there.
Israeli soldiers keep the north isolated, and the UN says around 300,000 people there are going through a severe food shortage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to continue the Rafah military operation even if we don’t have US weapons. He said “we will fight with everything we have” in a strong statement on Thursday. The US has been sending more weapons to Israel during the war, and the Israeli military has confirmed this. -
Rafah military operation by Israel “totally unacceptable” – Liberal ministers
Liberal politicians were very upset and sad on Tuesday when they heard that Israel had attacked the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, which was the only safe place for Palestinian people who had to leave their homes.
Canada’s foreign minister criticized Israel’s military operation in Rafah, but said she’s still hopeful that ceasefire talks will succeed.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said that it is not okay for Rafah to be invaded because it would put the lives of women, children, and innocent people in danger.
Israeli leaders said on Monday that the country has given the go-ahead for a military operation in the border city, and they have started attacking targets in the area.
The move happened shortly after Hamas said yes to a peace plan from Egypt and Qatar. But Israel doesn’t think the plan is good enough.
The situation in Palestine is very bad. Most people in the city have had to leave their homes and have no place to go. Joly said this.
She also said Canada is asking Israeli officials to stop the military operation.
Humanitarian aid was stopped because Israel took control of the border on Tuesday. The Prime Minister of Israel said this was an important move to weaken Hamas’ military and economic power.
Around 13 million Palestinians, which is more than half of the people who live in Gaza, are crowded into Rafah and depend on help that comes through the border crossing.
“Many people are stuck there without help, so a lot of innocent people will get hurt,” explained International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen on Tuesday. He said that Canada has always told people not to use the military in Rafah.
“We’re really unhappy that it’s happening. ”Canada has looked into different ways to help the people in the besieged area, like giving help through a sea port and dropping supplies from the air, according to Hussen.
“He said that we have tried our best. ”
The closure of the border will make it harder for extended family members of Canadians in Gaza to leave.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said he is very worried because we may not be able to help people leave.
The government started a visa program to bring people to Canada to be with their families, but they couldn’t help them leave the war zone through the Rafah border. Some people paid a lot of money to private companies to help them leave and go into Egypt.
Miller said that people will probably keep trying to get out, even in a dangerous area, because they need to escape no matter what.
“It’s difficult to guess, but it will probably be even more difficult, I think,” he said.
Last week, Canadian officials told senators they want fighting to stop in Gaza so they can send aid there.
Experts say that Ottawa is in a difficult position because the leaders involved in the conflict are not motivated to end it.
Ottawa is giving money to help bring more food into Gaza, so it will be cheaper and people won’t have to buy it from illegal sellers. Karim Morcos, who works for Canada’s Global Affairs, said this.
He said that flour is very hard to find and costs a lot in the area. Getting it delivered causes fights and stealing.
“UN agencies want to give so much aid that it loses its value,” he said at a meeting last week.
“They want to fill a soccer stadium with aid and let people help themselves. ” That’s the only way they can do it for now, because there is no law and order to protect the deliveries.
Both Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza are not happy with their leaders. Their leaders use the ongoing conflict to divert attention from their unpopularity. This was said by Janice Stein, a foreign-policy expert at the University of Toronto.
Most Israelis want Netanyahu to leave, and there are disagreements among his group of nationalist and religious parties about Iran. Palestinians are very mad at Hamas for putting them in danger during the war without thinking about the people who live there.
Gaza was in a big fight after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7. They killed 1,200 people in Israel, both civilians and soldiers.
The fighting in the area has killed over 30,000 Palestinians, according to health officials.
Stein said that we need to act quickly to make the conflict less intense. If the conflict spreads to more areas, it could have very bad effects on the people who live there. -
Rafah border crossing in Gaza taken over by Israeli forces
Israeli tanks took control of Gaza’s important Rafah border crossing on Tuesday. Despite urgent warnings from close allies, Israel moved into the southern city while ceasefire negotiations with Hamas were still uncertain.
The attack happened after a lot of fighting in the Israel-Hamas war. The militant group said on Monday that they agreed to a ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar. Israel said that the agreement did not meet their main requests.
The important talks and military tensions gave a small chance for an agreement to stop the 7-month-long war in Gaza.
The Israeli attack last night seemed to be less than the full attack on Rafah that they had planned. It’s not clear if they will do more. The upcoming operation has made people around the world worried about what will happen to the 1. 3 million Palestinians in the city. It also might make the relationship between Israel and the United States worse.
US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to attack the city. Israel told 100,000 Palestinians to leave the eastern part of Rafah.
The Israeli 401st Brigade went into the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing on Tuesday morning and now has control of the border point. The military revealed video showing tanks with Israeli flags taking control of the area. The information in the video matched the features of the crossing that we already know about.
The borders between Israel and Gaza, where aid comes in, have been closed for the last two days. The closing of smaller entry points is making it harder to bring in food, medicine, and other supplies to keep the people in Gaza alive. This is especially worrisome because officials say that the northern part of Gaza is already in a state of severe famine.
Jens Laerke, who speaks for the UN’s humanitarian affairs office (OCHA), said that Israeli authorities have refused to let them into the Rafah crossing. He said if there is trouble at Rafah, it could stop the aid from getting to people who need it. The fuel for the aid comes through there, and without it, the aid can’t go anywhere.
“It will make this crisis much worse, and could even lead to a famine,” he said. The Israeli army is not listening to warnings about how this could affect the people and the help efforts in Gaza.
The army attacked Rafah many times last night, and at least 23 Palestinians were killed, including six women and five children, according to hospital records seen by The Associated Press.
Mohamed Abu Amra said his family members were killed when a bomb hit their house while they were sleeping. “We didn’t do anything. ” Please simplify this text. “We do not have Hamas,” he said. “We discovered a fire that was consuming us. ” The house was really messy.
The Israeli military said it took control of the Rafah crossing because they were told it was being used by terrorists. They did not show proof right away, but they said Hamas fighters near the crossing attacked and killed four Israeli soldiers and injured others.
The army said soldiers and planes attacked places in Rafah where they thought Hamas might be.
Spokesperson from Egyptian Foreign Ministry said they can’t comment right now about Israel taking control of the crossing.
Egypt has said that if Rafah is taken over or if Palestinians are forced to leave and go into Egypt, it could harm the peace agreement with Israel that has been important for keeping the region safe.
Israel is planning to attack Rafah. Many people are worried that a lot of civilians will die in the fighting. So far, more than 34,700 Palestinians have been killed in the attacks. Gaza health officials provided this information. The attack destroyed a large part of the land and now people are struggling to find enough food, water, and medicine.The Rafah operation has made the disagreement between Netanyahu and Biden about how the war is being fought even bigger. Netanyahu says it is important to attack Rafah because it is a big area controlled by Hamas. Israel wants to destroy Hamas after they attacked southern Israel on Oct 7.
During the unexpected attack by Hamas, about 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others were taken as hostages to Gaza. Israeli critics say that Netanyahu is worried about his government staying in power because some of the strong supporters in his group might leave if he agrees to a deal before a possible attack on Rafah.
On Monday, Biden called Netanyahu and said that stopping the fighting would be the best way to get back the people still kept by Hamas, which is believed to be about 100 people, and also the bodies of about 30 others.
Israel said it will continue with its operations in Rafah. It did not agree with the cease-fire proposal from Hamas. However, it will send a group to Egypt for further talks.
An Egyptian official and a Western diplomat said that the draft Hamas agreed to had very few changes in the wording compared to the version the US had asked for earlier, which Israel had also approved. The CIA chief William Burns agreed to the changes before sending the draft to the Palestinian group. This was disclosed by an anonymous diplomat and official who was involved in the discussions.
The White House said Burns was talking about Hamas’ response with the Israelis and other officials in the area.
Hamas has agreed to a plan that includes releasing the hostages little by little, as Israeli troops also leave the area. The goal is to have a permanent peace with no more fighting.
In the beginning of the ceasefire, Hamas would let go of 33 hostages, such as women, children, older people, and sick people, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians being released from Israeli prisons, and Israeli forces would leave some areas of Gaza. The groups will talk about the next step. They will let the civilian men and soldiers go, and Israel will leave the rest of Gaza.
Hamas wants the war to stop and for Israel to pull out all its soldiers in exchange for freeing all the hostages. Israeli leaders openly say they won’t stop fighting until the hostages are free and Hamas is gone. -
Biden talks with Netanyahu as Israeli army gets closer to initiating Rafah offensive
President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to attack the city of Rafah in Gaza. Israel seems like they might attack to get rid of Hamas militants.
However, after Israel said that about 100,000 Palestinians in Rafah needed to leave, Hamas agreed to stop fighting Israel and accept a ceasefire proposed by Egypt and Qatar.
Israel did not say anything about the deal right away, and the details of the plan were not made public. A person from the US government, who could not talk about it in public and wanted to keep their name secret, warned that the White House still needed to find out more about what Hamas wants and if it matches what Israel and other countries have agreed to, or if it’s something different.
Lately, Egyptian and Hamas officials have said that the ceasefire will happen in stages. During each stage, Hamas will release hostages it has and in return, Israeli troops will move back from Gaza. On Monday, people were having discussions in Qatar.
High-ranking officials in the Biden administration are urging Hamas to agree to a good offer from Israel. This deal could lead to a longer period of peace and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. It might also help to stop the ongoing conflict for good.
The White House said that Biden talked to Netanyahu on the phone on Monday morning. They discussed their worries about an attack on Rafah, where more than 1 million people from Gaza are living. The war started because of an attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct 7, and it has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians and made life difficult in the area. Biden told Netanyahu that he still thinks that making a deal to stop the fighting with Hamas is the best way to keep the Israeli people safe.
According to a summary from the White House, the President repeated his strong stance on Rafah.
Biden met with King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House on Monday to talk about the war and hostage negotiations.
On Sunday, Netanyahu said no to outside pressure to stop the fighting in Gaza. He made a strong speech on the day Israel remembers the Holocaust and said, “If Israel has to be by itself, it will be by itself. ”
“I tell the world leaders: No matter what they say or do, Israel will keep on defending itself,” he said in English. “Never again is happening now. ”
The Israeli army told 100,000 Palestinians to leave Rafah on Monday. This means they might invade the area soon. It also makes it harder to make a peace agreement.
On Sunday, there was more fighting between Hamas and Israeli soldiers. Hamas shot rockets at the soldiers near a border with Gaza. The rockets killed four soldiers. At the same time, bombings in Rafah, Israel killed 22 people, including children and two babies, as reported by a hospital.
Netanyahu promised Biden that he would keep the Kerem Shalom crossing open for sending help to people in Gaza. This was confirmed by the White House.
Israeli officials recently told the US government about a plan to move Palestinian civilians out of an area before a possible military action.
The people in charge, who were not allowed to talk publicly and asked to keep their names secret, said that the plan from Israel didn’t change the US government’s opinion. They still think that an operation in Rafah would put too many innocent Palestinian civilians in danger.
Pentagon spokesperson Maj Gen Pat Ryder told reporters on Monday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had talked with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant about the need for Israel to have a good plan for evacuating civilians and providing humanitarian aid. Ryder said that Austin has seen some ideas from the Israelis about their plan for an operation in Rafah, but they haven’t seen all the details yet.
Israeli authorities have told people to leave some areas of Rafah and go to a place called Muwasi, which is a camp near the coast that Israel has said is for helping people. -
Israeli forces order Palestinians to leave some areas of Rafah ahead of planned attack
The Israeli army told about 100,000 Palestinians to leave the city of Rafah in Gaza on Monday. This makes it more likely that a ground attack will happen soon and makes it harder to make a deal to stop the fighting.
The upcoming operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians are staying, has made people around the world worried. Israel’s closest friends have advised against it because they are afraid that many people could be killed. On Monday, the United Nations organization that helps Palestinian refugees said it will not follow the order to leave.
Israel says that Rafah is an important place for Hamas after fighting for seven months. They say they need to invade to defeat the Islamic militant group, which started the conflict by attacking Israel on Oct 7th.
Hamas and Qatar warned that going into Rafah, which is near the border with Egypt, could ruin the work of international mediators trying to make a cease-fire.
Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, who speaks for the army, said that about 100,000 people are being told to go to a place called Muwasi. It is a zone set up by Israel to help people in need. Muwasi is a camp by the coast with tents where many Palestinians have gone to find safety. The conditions there are not good.
Shoshani said Israel was getting ready for a small operation and did not say if this was the start of a bigger invasion of the city. Israel did not officially tell everyone that they were starting to send soldiers into Gaza.
Last night, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Israel had to take action in Rafah.
On Sunday, Hamas launched a rocket attack from the Rafah area that killed four Israeli soldiers. It’s not clear if the upcoming operation is a response to this attack.
He said Israel made a map of the area people need to leave, and they are giving out orders using leaflets dropped from airplanes, text messages, and radio. He said Israel has given more help to Muwasi by providing hospitals, tents, food, and water.
Israel’s army posted on social media that they will use strong force against militants and told people to leave quickly to stay safe.
Jan Egeland, the leader of the Norwegian Refugee Council, criticized the order to make people leave and go to Muwasi. He said it was wrong and against the law.
“The area is already too full and doesn’t have important services,” Egeland said.
Around4 million Palestinians, which is more than half of the people living in Gaza, are living in a crowded area called Rafah and the places nearby. Many people left their homes in the area to escape from Israel’s attack. Now, they have to move again or stay and face the danger of another attack.
They live in very crowded tent camps, full UN shelters, or small apartments, and rely on help from other countries for food. The sanitation and medical facilities are not working well.
People in Rafah, Palestine talked about what to do after getting some papers.
“Many people here had to leave their homes and now they have to move again. It’s not safe for anyone to stay here,” said Nidal Alzaanin in a phone call to The Associated Press.
Alzaanin is a dad of five kids and he works for a group that helps people around the world. He ran away to Rafah from Beit Hanoun when the war started. He said that people are worried because Palestinians have said they were shot at during previous evacuations. Israel says it did not shoot at civilians.
Alzaanin said he’s ready to move with his papers and bags. But he’ll wait a day to see what other people do before he moves. He said his friend in Khan Younis can put up a tent for his family.
The UN agency called UNRWA has been helping many Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank for a long time. They said that if there is an attack in Rafah, it will cause a lot of harm to innocent people and could lead to more deaths. Juliette Touma, who is in charge of talking to the public for the agency, said they have not made anyone leave their jobs and don’t plan to. The agency has a lot of workers in the city.
The Rafah crossing in Egypt, which is an important place for aid going to Gaza, is in the area that people have to leave because of danger. The crossing stayed open on Monday even though Israel said it should be closed.
The war started when Hamas and other fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7th. They killed about 1,200 people, mostly innocent civilians, and took about 250 people as hostages.
The fighting has caused the deaths of over 34,000 Palestinians, as reported by local health officials. The count doesn’t show who is a civilian or a fighter, but officials say most of the people who died are kids and women. The fighting has caused a lot of damage in Gaza, and most of the people there have left to go to other areas.
Lately, more people want the war to stop. Even though the US, Egypt, and Qatar want fighting to stop, the leader of Israel says their military will keep moving into the city, even if a deal is made to stop fighting in exchange for hostages being released.
On Monday, Netanyahu blamed Hamas for ruining a deal and not giving up their strong demands. He promised to prevent the militants from taking over Gaza again. He gave a strong speech on Sunday for the country’s Holocaust memorial day and said that Israel will keep fighting even if no one helps them.
A Hamas leader said to The Associated Press that Israel is trying to force the group to give in on the cease-fire, but Hamas will not change its demands. Hamas wants the war to stop completely, Israeli soldiers to leave Gaza, and the strip to be rebuilt in the future. -
UN organisations ready for Rafah incursion
The UN has said that if Israel enters Rafah, it could put many lives in danger and make it difficult for aid groups to help people in that area. However, the World Health Organization is also getting ready in case this happens.
Israel has said many times that they might attack Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. About a million people who have been forced to leave their homes are living there because of fighting between Israel and Hamas. This fighting started when Hamas fighters crossed into Israel and killed people on Oct 7th.
Jens Laerke, who works for the UN humanitarian office, said it could be very bad for the people in the area and for the work the UN is doing there.
Israel has said it will help make sure that people in Rafah can leave safely. The United States has always said it cannot approve of an attack on Rafah by its friend Israel unless there is a good plan to keep the civilians safe.
Israel has shared some early information with the US, but we haven’t seen a complete plan that gives us confidence yet.
Another person from the US government, who did not want their name to be known, said that the plan from Israel to provide shelter, food, and routes for people to escape needs to be improved.
In Rafah, they are providing help like medical clinics, places with supplies for people in need, giving out food, and taking care of really hungry children in 50 places.
OCHA will try its best to make sure that aid work keeps going, even if there is an attack. They are figuring out how to make this happen.
“A person from the World Health Organization said that they have a plan for Rafah, which includes a new hospital. But they also said that the plan may not stop a lot more people from dying. ”
More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in almost seven months of fighting, it was reported by Gaza’s health ministry.
Rik Peeperkorn, who works for the World Health Organization in the occupied Palestinian territory, said that he thinks the contingency plan is just a temporary solution. “It won’t stop the extra people getting hurt or dying from the military operation. ”
Other plans involve putting medical supplies in hospitals up north in case the three hospitals in Rafah are not working. This has happened many times in the last seven months because of Israeli attacks.
According to WHO data, only about a third of the 36 hospitals that were open before the war are still working to some extent. Israel says that Hamas is using hospitals for military purposes. Israel believes that its attacks on these hospitals are necessary because they have found fighters there. Hamas and medical staff say the accusations are not true.
Peeperkorn said he was really worried that an attack might stop the Rafah crossing from bringing in medical supplies to Gaza from Egypt.
“We are working hard to make sure it stays open no matter what,” he said. WHO has talked to Israeli authorities about this issue. -
Netanyahu promises that he will attack Rafah “with or without a deal”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised on Tuesday to send troops into the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Many Palestinians have been staying there to escape the war that has been going on for seven months.
Netanyahu said Israel will go into Rafah to destroy Hamas’ groups there, with or without an agreement. Israel and Hamas are talking about a ceasefire deal to free hostages and help the Palestinians in the area.
“We can’t consider stopping the war until we achieve all of our goals. ” We will go into Rafah and defeat the groups of fighters from Hamas, no matter what. Netanyahu said this in a meeting with families of the hostages in Gaza.
Netanyahu promised to win the war completely and is under pressure from his nationalist partners to attack Rafah, which Israel claims is a major place where Hamas is strong.
People are feeling more hopeful that an agreement could be reached to stop Israel from entering Rafah, where over half of Gaza’s 2. 3 million people are seeking shelter.
Countries around the world, including Israel’s close friend, the US, are worried about what might happen to civilians in Rafah if Israel attacks.
Netanyahu has refused to stop the war in exchange for releasing hostages. He believes that it is important to attack Rafah in order to defeat the militants who attacked Israel on Oct 7. If he agrees to a deal, his government might be in danger because some strong-minded members of his Cabinet want to attack Rafah. -
At least 40 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza
Israeli bombings killed 40 Palestinians on Monday. More than half of the dead were in the southern Gaza city of Rafah where bombs hit three houses. Hamas leaders went to Cairo for more talks about bringing peace.
In Gaza City, in the north of the Gaza Strip, Israeli warplanes hit two houses. At least six people were killed and many others were injured, according to health officials.
At night, Israel bombed a house in Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza and three people, including a journalist, were killed. Hamas and medics reported this. Six more people died in other parts of central Gaza because of airstrikes from Israel.
Israel’s army said that two of its soldiers died in the middle of Gaza on Sunday.
The military part of the Hamas-related Islamic Jihad group shot rockets into Israel on Monday. This shows that the group can still shoot rockets even after Israel attacked them for almost seven months.
The bombings in Rafah happened just before a meeting in Egypt to talk about stopping the fighting between Israel and Hamas. Many people from Gaza have gone to Rafah to get away from the bombings.
When asked about the Rafah strikes, a spokesperson for the Israeli military said that fighter jets hit places where terrorists were in a civilian area in southern Gaza, but did not give more information.
“The IDF will keep stopping terrorist activities and keeping Israeli people safe by following the rules of international law,” the spokesperson said.
Families of those who died in Israeli attacks came to a hospital in Rafah to take the bodies home for burial. Women and men were sad as they said goodbye to their dead relatives who were wrapped in white and black coverings.
The strikes are causing the death of a young baby boy.
His name is Deif-Allah, which means “guest” in Arabic, and he truly was a guest. Abu Taha said, “Our baby boy finally came to visit us after 10 years. We missed him so much. ” Abu Taha held his baby boy’s body, which was wrapped in a white shroud.
Ten people died. This includes a mother, her daughter, her granddaughters, her grandson, her son-in-law, their daughters, and other relatives. “They’ve all left, all 10 of them. ”
On Monday, at a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, said that Egypt is hopeful about a plan for a cease-fire and the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip. But Egypt is still waiting for a response from Israel and Hamas about the plan.
“We hope that the proposal has considered the views of both sides and has tried to find a compromise. We are waiting for a final decision,” Shoukry said.
A Palestinian official involved in negotiations said to Reuters that things are looking better this time, but he didn’t say if a deal is about to happen.
Israel promised to destroy Hamas, which is in charge of Gaza. The military attack has killed 34,488 people and injured 77,643 in Gaza, according to health officials.
The war has made almost all of the 2. 3 million people leave their homes and destroyed much of the area.
The fighting started when Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7th. They killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages, according to Israel. -
At least five people killed in Israeli attacks in Rafah
Officials at a hospital in Palestine said that Israel bombed the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip and at least five people died.
More than half of the 2. 3 million people in the area have gone to Rafah for shelter. Israel is doing regular attacks in Rafah as it gets ready for a big fight in the city. In central Gaza, four people died when Israeli tanks fired at them.
A boat in the Gulf of Aden was attacked on Thursday, probably by Yemen’s Houthi rebels because of the Israel-Hamas war.
At the same time, a leader of Hamas said to the Associated Press that the group is okay with stopping fighting with Israel for five years or longer.
The Israel-Hamas war started because of a very unusual event in October. There were 7 attacks in southern Israel. The attackers killed about 1,200 people, mostly innocent civilians, and took about 250 people hostage. Israel says that the militants are still keeping about 100 people against their will and the bodies of over 30 others.
According to local health officials, more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war. About two-thirds of them were children and women. -
Israeli attack on Rafah in Gaza would be “mistake” to bring down Hamas – Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that an important Israeli attack on the southern Gaza town of Rafah would be a “mistake” and “not needed” to defeat Hamas. This shows that the relationship between the United States and Israel is getting worse.
Blinken had an important meeting with important Arab leaders in Egypt to talk about stopping the fighting in the Middle East. This is his sixth time going there since the war started. They also discussed plans for what will happen in Gaza after the war is over. He said we need to stop fighting right away and release the Israeli hostages held by Hamas. The US, Egypt, and Qatar have been working on negotiations and getting closer to an agreement. The talks will keep going in Qatar on Friday with important people.
Blinken is going to Israel on Friday to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his team that makes decisions about war. The fighting between Netanyahu and President Biden about how to fight the war will probably be more important than their discussions. Netanyahu really wants to start a ground attack on Rafah, where a lot of Palestinians are hiding from Israeli attacks.
Netanyahu said that Israel needs to invade Rafah in order to destroy Hamas after the deadly October events. Israel started bombing Gaza and launching an attack after 7 people were taken as hostages.
“We don’t think it’s a good idea to have a big military operation in Rafah. ” “We don’t need to work with Hamas, and that’s important,” said Blinken at a press conference in Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. A big attack would cause more innocent people to die and make the situation in Gaza even worse, Blinken said. He also said that he will be talking about different plans with Israeli officials in the coming days, to find a better solution.
The US has changed its stance on a Rafah operation a lot in the past few days. At first, US officials said they couldn’t agree to a big attack on the city unless there was a safe plan to get civilians out. US officials said they have looked into it and think it’s not possible because there are too many people living there. They are suggesting that the only way to prevent harm to civilians is to use operations that specifically target known Hamas fighters and leaders.
However, Netanyahu promised to disregard warnings and proceed with the Rafah operation during a 45-minute call with GOP senators on Wednesday. He also criticized Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for speaking out against the number of innocent people killed in Gaza and for calling for new elections in Israel in a speech that Biden later said was âgood. â
Netanyahu said Israel will continue in Rafah, as per the senators in the meeting. John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, said Netanyahu clearly stated that he and the people of Israel plan to fight the war with all their strength and won’t let Senator Schumer or President Biden tell them what to do.
Israeli critics say that Netanyahu is causing damage to American support by making strong connections with Republican leaders.
When Blinken and the Arab ministers got together, Gaza’s Health Ministry said that almost 32,000 Palestinians have died since the war started there. Furthermore, UN officials have increased their warnings that there could be a famine very soon in northern Gaza.
Blinken met with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates in Cairo. They also met with a leader from the Palestine Liberation Organization, a group that represents the Palestinian people. They also talked about how to send help to Gaza quickly by land, air, and sea.
During a previous meeting, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi told Blinken that it’s important to stop fighting right away and cautioned against any Israeli attack in Rafah. This was reported by el-Sissi’s spokesperson.
Both groups said they still don’t want Gazans to be forced out of their homes and they agreed it’s important to do everything they can to make sure that food and supplies get into Gaza.
Blinken said the differences are getting smaller in talks about stopping the fighting, but we still have more work to do. “He said there are still difficult problems to solve. ” “We’ve fixed some problems, but there are still more to fix. ”
Netanyahu’s office announced that the leader of the Mossad spy agency will go back to Qatar on Friday. He will meet with CIA chief William Burns and other important people involved in the talks. On Thursday, the office announced that the prime minister of Qatar and the intelligence chief of Egypt will also participate in the discussions.At the same time, the United States wants a fast vote on a new UN resolution that asks for a quick and lasting stop to the fighting, to keep people safe and allow aid to be given. Robert Wood, the US deputy ambassador to the UN, said he wants to have a vote by the end of the week. The decision is important because it doesn’t insist on stopping the fighting to free the hostages.
Still, Blinken said the two must go together. “He said we need to stop fighting right now and let the hostages go. ”
Netanyahu has disagreed with the Biden administration’s repeated warnings that Israel needs an independent Palestinian state for long-term security.
A clear plan and deadline for creating a Palestinian state are important for Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to be friends with Israel. This is something Netanyahu really wants to make happen. Blinken spent a lot of time in Jeddah with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman talking about making things more normal between the US and Saudi Arabia.
Biden and Netanyahu finally talked on the phone after not speaking for a month. They agreed that experts from Israel would go to Washington to talk about the Rafah plans. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is going to Washington next week for a visit.
The fighting started when Palestinian fighters killed about 1,200 people in a surprise attack in October. 7 attacks from Gaza started the war and kidnapped 250 people. It is believed that Hamas is still keeping about 100 people as hostages and the remains of 30 other people. -
Israel gives Gaza’s ground offensive in Rafah until March
Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli government, said that if Hamas doesn’t release all the people they are holding captive in Gaza by 10 March, the Israeli military will attack Rafah.
This is the first time Israel has mentioned when its soldiers might go into the crowded city of Gaza in the south.
Many people around the world are speaking out against the attack in Rafah, where 1. 5 million Palestinians live.
Before, the UN public health agency said that a important hospital in Gaza stopped working after an attack by Israel.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it wasn’t allowed to go into Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis to check on things.
The IDF went into the building on Thursday because they had information that Hamas had taken hostages and were keeping them there.
The IDF said their mission in Nasser was careful and not big, and they blamed Hamas for using hospitals for terror.
Mr Gantz, who used to be in charge of defending the country, said on Sunday that if our hostages are not returned by the end of Ramadan, there will be more fighting in many places, including the Rafah area.
Ramadan is the important month of fasting for Muslims, and it starts on 10 March this year.
Mr Gantz said that Israel will work together with the US and Egypt to help civilians leave safely and try to avoid hurting them.
The Israeli war cabinet is made up of the most important people in charge of keeping the country safe. It was created a few days after Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7th, killing over 1,200 people and holding 253 hostages. Hamas has 130 hostages in Gaza, according to Israel.
Mr Gantz mentioned Egypt, which could mean Israel thinks some Palestinians may leave Gaza and go to Egypt. It seems like Egypt is making a big wall to keep them safe. This was reported by the BBC’s Paul Adams.
But the Israeli government has not shared any information about how they will evacuate people.
In three weeks Ramadan will start. Some people in Rafah are leaving and going to the coast, but most are still waiting and don’t know what to do.
Even though other countries are telling him not to, the leader of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has promised to send troops into Rafah to get rid of the Hamas fighters there.
Egypt and some other Arab countries have said many times that if Israel attacks there, it could force a lot of Palestinians into Egypt. They don’t think this is okay. Saudi Arabia has promised that there will be big consequences if Rafah is attacked.
Many countries have told Israel not to attack a city in Gaza where the people are living in very bad conditions. The US, which is an important friend of Israel, warned that attacking the city without careful planning would be a very bad idea.
Israel has been attacking Hamas since 7 October and has caused a lot of damage to the Gaza Strip.
Over 28,400 Palestinians, mainly women and children, have died and over 68,000 have been injured since the war started, according to the health ministry run by Hamas.
The government says that at least 127 people from Palestine have died and 205 others were hurt in the last day.
Even though the conflict in Gaza is still going on, people have been trying to make a peace agreement between Israel and Hamas in Cairo. However, mediators from Qatar said that there hasn’t been much progress.
Mr Netanyahu said he sent people to talk after President Biden asked, but they didn’t go back for more talks because Hamas wanted things that were not reasonable.
Hamas said Israel is not making progress in getting a ceasefire. -
Netanyahu promises to continue Rafah offensive
The leader of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, says his soldiers will keep moving toward the city of Rafah in Gaza, even though others are asking them to stop.
French President Emmanuel Macron was telling Mr Netanyahu that the human cost of Israel’s operation in Gaza was too high. He warned him to stop it.
However, Netanyahu has told his army to get ready for a land attack.
Around 14 million Palestinians are living in the city of Rafah, and it has already been attacked.
Mr Netanyahu promised to continue with a strong attack and said that Hamas, the group in charge of Gaza, needs to be removed from the southern city.
“We will keep fighting until we win and we will also take strong action in Rafah after we let the civilians leave the battle areas,” he said.
President Macron called Mr. Netanyahu on Wednesday and said that Israel’s actions in Gaza need to stop.
He said that France is strongly against Israel attacking Rafah. He thinks it would cause a big humanitarian disaster.
The leaders of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand are very worried about a military operation in Rafah. They think it would be very bad.
“We ask the Israeli government not to choose this way,” the statement said. It added, “If they expand the military operation, it will be very bad for the Palestinian people. ”
The German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who was in Israel, said that the people in Rafah who have nowhere to go cannot just disappear out of nowhere.
Spain and the Republic of Ireland, who are members of the EU, have requested a quick review to see if Israel is following its human rights duties in Gaza, as stated in a trade agreement.
The health ministry in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, says that at least 28,576 people, mostly women and children, have been killed because of Israel’s attack.
Israel decided to do something after gunmen led by Hamas killed at least 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in a sudden attack on its land on 7 October.
During the start of the war, Israel told Palestinians to go to Rafah for safety while the Israeli military fought in the northern cities.
Rafah is at the bottom of Gaza and has a crossing into Egypt where humanitarian help can go into the area.
Now, Israel wants people to move to a safe area called a “humanitarian zone” along the coast called al-Mawasi. This area is mainly used for farming.
One of the people who had to leave their home in Rafah was Ahlam Abu Assi. She told the news agency AFP that she would rather stay in Rafah, even if it meant she might die there, than go back to the terrible conditions her relatives in Gaza City had to endure.
“My son and his kids don’t have any food to eat. ” “They make a little bit of rice and keep it for tomorrow,” she said.
Another city called Khan Younis has been the main area where Israel has been concentrating its military operations in the southern part of Gaza.
Many Palestinians who had to leave their homes went to the Nasser hospital for safety. Now they are being told to leave there too.
Mr Netanyahu said he will continue despite the peace talks involving officials from the US, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar not reaching a conclusion.
The leader of Israel said that Hamas did not offer anything new for a hostage deal, and Israel will not agree to the militant group’s unreasonable requests.
It said that if Hamas changes its positions, the negotiations can make progress. -
Israel Gaza: UN fears Rafah attack could result in “slaughter”
A high-ranking UN official has said that if Israel attacks Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, a lot of people could be killed.
Humanitarian leader Martin Griffiths said that the people in Gaza are going through a really harsh and intense attack.
He said that if Rafah is invaded, the results would be really bad.
The leader of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has promised to beat the Hamas fighters who he says are hiding in the city.
In a very strong statement, Mr. Griffiths said that over a million people are crowded in Rafah and are facing the threat of death. He said people in the city don’t have much food or medicine and have no safe place to go.
He said if Israel invades the city, it will make the humanitarian operation even more difficult.
A person who speaks for the leader of the United Nations said to the BBC that the UN has not gotten any plans from Israel to move people out of Rafah, and the UN won’t help with any evacuations that are not voluntary.
Stephane Dujarric said: “The United Nations will not be part of making people leave their homes without wanting to. ”
Rafah is a little town in the southern part of the Gaza Strip near the border with Egypt. Before the war, about 250,000 people lived there. But now, because Israel told people to go south, the population has grown to around 1. 5
A lot of people are living in tents and they are in bad conditions. They have no place to go.
Mr Griffiths also said that people helping others in Gaza have been shot, threatened with guns, attacked, and killed because there is no law and order.
He said this while Israel and Hamas in Gaza were trying to talk and agree to stop fighting.
Top leaders from the US, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar met on Tuesday. They discussed the situation in Rafah and urged Israel not to invade.
Mr Guterres said he wanted the talks to be successful in order to prevent an attack by Israel on the city.
But later statements from the Egyptian government said that there was no progress made in the meeting.
It was said that the meeting showed how dangerous it is to increase military actions in Rafah in southern Gaza and how it could lead to very bad results. But they didn’t say if they made any progress towards peace.
Joe Biden, the President of the United States, told Israel to make sure that the people who are not in the army are safe. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron told Israel to “stop and think carefully” before attacking Rafah.
Around 1,200 people died in attacks in Israel by gunmen led by Hamas on October 7th last year.
Israel started a war in the Gaza Strip. The war has caused the death of over 28,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and more than 68,000 have been injured, according to the health ministry run by Hamas.
Rafah was heavily bombed by the Israeli military recently. At least 67 people were killed there on Monday, according to the health ministry run by Hamas. -
Negotiations for Gaza cease-fire coincide with gunfire in Rafah
Talks to stop the fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza have started again in Cairo, according to Egyptian news.
High-ranking leaders from the US, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar are having a meeting because there is a lot of pressure from different countries for Israel to stop bombing the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Around 15 million people are crowded into this little town near the border, and there are worries that Israel might send in troops.
The leader of Israel said no to the ceasefire idea from Hamas and called it “delusional” last week.
Benjamin Netanyahu said it was possible to completely win in Gaza in a few months.
Later, he told Israeli soldiers to get ready to go into more areas on the ground, and promised to win against Hamas fighters who are hiding in Rafah.
But the UN human rights chief Volker Türk said that any attack would be very frightening and many innocent people would probably be killed.
US President Joe Biden wants to keep people in the area safe.
Rafah has been hit by a lot of bombings from Israel in the past few days, and there have been reports of people being killed and hurt.
The talks in Cairo are still happening even though Israel has said no to what Hamas wants.
The leader of the US Central Intelligence Agency William Burns, Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea, Egyptian intelligence officials, and Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani are working together.
Reuters reported that people who know about the talks said they are planning to use a three-step plan to release the rest of the Israeli hostages and have a longer break from fighting.
Qatar and Egypt, with help from the US, have been trying to make a deal between Israel and Hamas.
Israel has not been able to find 134 of the 253 people who were taken by Hamas-led gunmen during the attacks on southern Israel on 7 October. Some people who were held captive have been let go, including two men from Israel and Argentina. Unfortunately, some people did not survive the situation.
At least 1,200 people died in the attacks led by Hamas.
Israel started fighting in the Gaza Strip because of what they did. About 28,473 Palestinians have died and over 68,000 have been injured in Gaza since 7 October, according to the health ministry run by Hamas.
Over half of the 2. 3 million people in Gaza are now living in Rafah, which used to have only 250,000 people before the war between Israel and Hamas.
Many of the homeless people are living in temporary shelters or tents in dirty conditions, with little access to clean water or food.
Many countries and groups have told Israel not to start its planned attack, along with the US.
The UK Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, said that Israel should think carefully before doing anything else in Rafah.
Josep Borrell, who is in charge of the EU’s foreign policy, asked countries that support Israel to stop giving them weapons because a lot of people are being killed in Gaza.
Last week, Saudi Arabia said there would be big problems if Rafah was attacked. -
Biden asks Israel to protect those who are weak in Rafah
US President Joe Biden said people in Rafah, Gaza are crowded and in danger. They need to be kept safe.
Israel needs to try really hard to keep the more than one million Palestinians safe in the southern Gazan city.
Rafah is getting hit a lot by Israel’s planes. People are getting hurt.
A doctor from Palestine said people in Rafah are scared.
Last week, the leader of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he told soldiers to get ready to go into Rafah. He promised to win against the Hamas fighters who are hiding in the city.
The leader of the UN’s human rights group said that any attack would be very scary and a lot of innocent people would probably die.
More than half of the 2. 3 million people in Gaza Strip are now living in the city on the border with Egypt. There used to be only 250,000 people there before the war between Israel and Hamas started in October.
Many people who have nowhere to live are staying in temporary shelters or tents in dirty conditions, with little access to clean water or food.
On Sunday, Israel’s army saved two men who were being held captive in Rafah.
President Biden once more asked for the safety of the people in Rafah after talking with King Abdullah of Jordan in Washington on Monday.
He said if the military wants to do a big operation in the city, they need to make sure that the people living there will be safe.
“Many people have been forced to leave their homes several times because of the violence. Now they are crowded into Rafah, which makes them easy targets and at risk. ”
“They must be kept safe. ” We have always said that we are against making Palestinians leave Gaza against their will.
Last week, the White House said it would not approve big Israeli actions in Rafah without thinking about the people who live there.
A lot of people have left the area of the Gaza Strip in Israel because of the fighting. Gaza Strip is run by Hamas, a Palestinian group.
Many countries and global groups have told Israel not to start its attack as planned.
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on Monday that Israel should think carefully before doing more in Rafah.
Josep Borrell, who is in charge of the EU’s foreign policy, told friends of Israel to stop sending weapons because too many people were getting killed in Gaza.
Saudi Arabia said there would be big problems if Rafah was attacked.
At the same time, the leaders of Hamas in Gaza said that many people could get hurt if there is a fight, and it could also make it harder to talk about getting Israeli hostages back from Gaza.
Rafah is the only place where humanitarian aid can come into Gaza from Egypt.
Israel’s army started attacking Gaza Strip because 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel on October 7 by gunmen from Hamas. The gunmen also took 253 people as hostages.
Some of the hostages were let go, but Israel says they still don’t know where 134 of them are.
On Monday, the health ministry in Gaza, run by Hamas, reported that 164 people were killed and 200 were injured in Gaza in the past day. 28,340 people in Gaza have died and almost 68,000 have been injured since October 7th, according to the ministry. -
Palestinian authority denounces Israeli airstrikes in Rafah as “Massacre”
In the wake of Israel’s hostage raid in southern Gaza, a series of deadly airstrikes ensued overnight, prompting condemnation from the Palestinian Authority’s foreign ministry.
Describing the Israeli action as a “massacre” in Rafah, the PA, which governs the occupied West Bank, reported a death toll of 100 people along with numerous injuries.
However, conflicting reports on the number of casualties emerged. While a spokesman for the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza stated that at least 67 Palestinians were killed, earlier estimates had suggested around 100 fatalities.
In a statement released on [date], the ministry criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of orchestrating “mass massacres” driven by a desire for revenge rather than victory and in violation of international law.
Despite international outcry, Netanyahu has reiterated his commitment to continuing the military offensive in Gaza.
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Concerns increase as Israel prepares Rafah offensive
Israel is getting more and more warnings from other countries about its upcoming attack in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza that is full of Palestinian refugees.
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that more than half of the people in Gaza are seeking shelter in the area. Dutch FM Hanke Bruins Slot said that there might be many innocent people who are hurt.
Saudi Arabia said that there will be a big problem if Rafah is attacked.
Hamas leaders in Gaza said that there could be a very large number of people hurt or killed.
Israel started its military actions in the Gaza Strip because over 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel by Hamas gunmen on 7 October.
More than 27,900 people have died and at least 67,000 people have been hurt in Gaza, according to the health ministry run by Hamas.
Many people from Gaza have had to leave their homes and end up in Rafah at least once.
On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the military to get ready to move people out of the city before attacking Hamas.
“We can’t reach our war goal if we don’t get rid of Hamas. Also, leaving four Hamas groups in Rafah won’t help. ” The people in charge said that there is a lot of fighting in Rafah and civilians need to leave the area.
The prime minister said no to Hamas’s latest offer for a ceasefire.
The US told Israel that attacking Rafah in Gaza would be very bad, and the EU and the UN are also worried about it.
Charity organizations say that it is not possible to rescue or remove all the people from the city that is near the border of Egypt.
Jamie McGoldrick, a person from the UN, recently went to Gaza to see how things are. He said to the BBC that if Israeli soldiers attack, the people in Rafah don’t have anywhere to go.
“The places that were said to be safe are not safe anymore. ” “If these people have to go somewhere else, where can they go. We are really scared that our situation will only get worse,” he said.
Around 15 million Palestinians are in Rafah to hide from the fighting between Israelis and Palestinians in other parts of Gaza. Most of them are living in temporary shelter.
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In a message on social media, Mr Cameron said he was really worried about the possibility of a military attack in Rafah.
“We need to stop fighting right away to help the people in need and to rescue the hostages. Then we can work on having a lasting ceasefire. ”
Meanwhile, Bruins Slot said the situation in Rafah is very concerning.
“Many people in Gaza have left and gone to the south. ” It’s difficult to imagine that big military actions in a crowded area wouldn’t cause a lot of civilian deaths and a worse humanitarian crisis. “This is not fair,” she said.
On Saturday, the Saudi foreign ministry said not to attack Rafah in Gaza. Many people had to leave because of the violence from Israel.
The ministry asked for a stop in fighting right away.
The news cannot check a lot of the things that are said about the fighting in the war. -
Israel-Gaza war: Netanyahu commands military to organise Rafah evacuations
The leader of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has told the military to get ready to move people out of the southern Gaza city of Rafah before they attack Hamas.
Around 15 million Palestinians are in Rafah to find safety from fighting with Israel in other parts of Gaza.
The US told Israel that attacking Rafah would be very bad, and the EU and the UN are also worried.
Charities say they can’t rescue all the people from the city.
Mr Netanyahu asked the military and security leaders to come up with a plan to move people away and get rid of the groups of fighters from Hamas.
“We can’t win the war unless we get rid of Hamas and their four battalions in Rafah. ” Instead, it’s clear that there’s a lot of fighting in Rafah, so regular people need to leave the area.
Mr Netanyahu said he told soldiers to get ready to go to Rafah and that Israel will win over Hamas soon.
He said this while saying no to the terms Hamas offered for a ceasefire. Hamas negotiators are leaving Cairo, and talks between them and the BBC are paused.
Most of the people in Rafah had to leave their homes because of the fighting in other parts of Gaza. Now they are living in tents.
Rafah is the only place where people can enter or leave Gaza and go to Egypt.
On Friday, the leader of the European Union, Josep Borrell, said on social media that he is worried about reports of Israel attacking Rafah. This would have very bad effects, making the humanitarian situation even worse and causing more harm to civilians.
Earlier this week, the UN Secretary General António Guterres said that there could be a big problem with people needing help in the city. His spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said later: “We are very concerned about what is happening to the regular people in Rafah. ” I believe it’s important to protect people, but we also don’t want to see anyone being forced to leave their homes.
At the same time, the leader of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said people in Rafah are feeling more and more anxious and scared.
“Philippe Lazzarini said that people don’t know where to go after Rafah,” he told reporters in Jerusalem.
“A big military operation in this area will just make things even more tragic. ”
Israeli planes bombed Gaza on Friday and at least 15 people died, including eight in Rafah, according to Hamas-run health officials. Israel didn’t say anything right away.
Garda al-Kourd, a mother with two children, said she had to move six times because of the war. She thinks Israel will attack, but she hopes for a peace agreement before it happens.
If they come to Rafah, it will be very bad for us. It will feel like we are waiting to die. “We have no other place to go,” she said to the BBC from a family member’s house in the city where she was living with 20 other people.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden said that Israel’s actions in Gaza were too much, without mentioning Rafah directly. He said the “over the top” phrase again to talk about how Hamas reacted to a truce plan for Gaza. Hamas was asked to release hostages in exchange for the truce.
John Kirby, a spokesperson for the US National Security Council, said that the Israeli military has a responsibility to protect innocent civilians during their operations in Gaza or anywhere else.
“He said that military operations at this time would be very bad for those people, and it’s not something that we would approve of. ”
Israeli officials say that more than 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on 7 October.
Israel started a war and more than 27,900 Palestinians were killed and at least 67,000 were hurt, according to the health ministry run by Hamas. -
Iowa principal who save students from being shot in school passes away
Ten people in a house in Rafah were killed in Israeli strikes in the last day, along with 125 other people.
The population of the southern Gaza city has grown to over a million people as people from other parts of Gaza come there to stay safe.
The IDF said they are checking the reports.
Missiles were also shot from Gaza into the southern part of Israel.
Samir Qeshta from Rafah said that his house was completely destroyed by Israeli bombing while he and his wife were not at home.
“This house kept me and my children safe and protected. ” “We are peaceful. They attacked us without warning,” he said.
Nimma al-Akhras was at her house when the bombing started.
“The strike was unexpected,” she says. “We were yelling and I couldn’t move until someone picked me up and placed me on a cart. ”
“What did we do that was not right. We were just sitting. ” It’s not safe at home or outside. “Where should we go. ”
The IDF stopped fighting in the city for a short time to help people in need after earlier attacks.
Israel is attacking the members and buildings of Hamas and is trying to prevent civilians from getting hurt.
On Telegram, the health ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said that the buildings and medical facilities in Rafah are not enough to help the around 1. 3 million people who had to leave their homes.
“Rafah is getting very crowded because a lot of Palestinian families who have been forced to leave their homes have been arriving in the area,” he said.
The doctors at Nasser hospital in the city said it is hard for them to help patients because the healthcare system is not working well.
“Dr Mohammad al-Qidra said that a lot of the important medical things in the ICU are not there. ” “We have no empty beds and can’t provide any treatment. ” Many of the medicines in the emergency room are not sufficient for the patients. We are looking for other options.
Many people who have nowhere to live are staying in the hospital.
Less than half of Gaza’s hospitals are working, and the ones that are working are only partially functioning, according to the World Health Organisation. There were not many ambulances working in the Gaza Strip, said the health ministry run by Hamas.
In the middle of Gaza, people said there were big fights with guns, tanks shooting, and attacks from Israeli planes in the Bureij, Nuseirat and Maghazi refugee camps – places with lots of buildings close together.
The Israeli army said they attacked some places and killed many fighters.
The IDF reported that they killed Hamas fighters in Khan Younis. Hamas said they fired at an IDF helicopter near the city.
A lot of Palestinians, mostly regular people, have been killed in Israel’s fight with Hamas in Gaza. The health ministry run by Hamas says 23,843 people have died.
Israel started its attack because many Hamas fighters went into southern Israeli towns from Gaza. They killed around 1,300 people and took about 240 others as hostages. -
Israel attacks portion of Gaza City filled with refugees
Ten people in a house in Rafah were killed in Israeli strikes in the last day, along with 125 other people.
The population of the southern Gaza city has grown to over a million people as people from other parts of Gaza come there to stay safe.
The IDF said they are checking the reports.
Missiles were also shot from Gaza into the southern part of Israel.
Samir Qeshta from Rafah said that his house was completely destroyed by Israeli bombing while he and his wife were not at home.
“This house kept me and my children safe and protected. ” “We are peaceful. They attacked us without warning,” he said.
Nimma al-Akhras was at her house when the bombing started.
“The strike was unexpected,” she says. “We were yelling and I couldn’t move until someone picked me up and placed me on a cart. ”
“What did we do that was not right. We were just sitting. ” It’s not safe at home or outside. “Where should we go. ”
The IDF stopped fighting in the city for a short time to help people in need after earlier attacks.
Israel is attacking the members and buildings of Hamas and is trying to prevent civilians from getting hurt.
On Telegram, the health ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said that the buildings and medical facilities in Rafah are not enough to help the around 1. 3 million people who had to leave their homes.
“Rafah is getting very crowded because a lot of Palestinian families who have been forced to leave their homes have been arriving in the area,” he said.
The doctors at Nasser hospital in the city said it is hard for them to help patients because the healthcare system is not working well.
“Dr Mohammad al-Qidra said that a lot of the important medical things in the ICU are not there. ” “We have no empty beds and can’t provide any treatment. ” Many of the medicines in the emergency room are not sufficient for the patients. We are looking for other options.
Many people who have nowhere to live are staying in the hospital.
Less than half of Gaza’s hospitals are working, and the ones that are working are only partially functioning, according to the World Health Organisation. There were not many ambulances working in the Gaza Strip, said the health ministry run by Hamas.
In the middle of Gaza, people said there were big fights with guns, tanks shooting, and attacks from Israeli planes in the Bureij, Nuseirat and Maghazi refugee camps – places with lots of buildings close together.
The Israeli army said they attacked some places and killed many fighters.
The IDF reported that they killed Hamas fighters in Khan Younis. Hamas said they fired at an IDF helicopter near the city.
A lot of Palestinians, mostly regular people, have been killed in Israel’s fight with Hamas in Gaza. The health ministry run by Hamas says 23,843 people have died.
Israel started its attack because many Hamas fighters went into southern Israeli towns from Gaza. They killed around 1,300 people and took about 240 others as hostages. -
Israel stops hostilities in Rafah as locals speak of “unimaginable” attacks
In Gaza, the Israeli army said they will pause fighting for a short time.
For helping people in need in Rafah until 2:00 pm local time (12:00 pm GMT).
After Israel attacked the southern city, many people from other parts of Gaza went there to find safety.
Samir Qeshta said his home was “completely ruined” in the bombing.
“This house protected me and my kids. ” “I was getting my son ready to get married and setting up the place for him to live in,” he tells the AFP news agency.
“We are peaceful, they attacked us without warning. ” I went to see my sister while my wife was at her parents’ house.
Nimma al-Akhras was at her house when the bombing started.
“It was a very surprising strike,” she says. “We screamed and I couldn’t move until someone picked me up and put me on a cart. ”
“What did we do to make a mistake. We were just sitting. ” Our homes and outside are not safe. Where can we go.
Just to remind you, Israel says it goes after terrorists and their stuff, and it tries to avoid hurting regular people. -
More injured people should be permitted to cross Rafah – Gaza administration
The government in charge of Gaza wants Egypt to open the border so they can send 6,000 injured people to get medical help in other countries as soon as possible.
It says that the health sector and hospitals in Gaza are in really bad shape.
The statement says that Israeli attacks have destroyed 30 facilities and now there are more than 58,000 people who are sick.
It means that right now only 10 to 20 injured people are allowed to go through the border every day. It asks Egypt to make things better so that they can allow “hundreds and thousands” of people to go through instead of just a few dozen.
The media office is asking for help from all countries in the world to stop the war and is specifically asking the international community and the US to put pressure on Israel.
“We ask everyone to take their moral and humanitarian duty seriously as civilians, children, and women in the Gaza Strip are being killed in front of the world. “ -
Israel Defense Force declares ‘local tactical pause’ in Rafah for ninety minutes
The Israeli army said on X(formerly Twitter) that there will be a short break in the fighting today in the southern part of Gaza.
“A temporary stop in fighting will happen today in the Rafah area until 2:00pm [12:00 GMT]. This is to let more humanitarian aid come in,” it says.
Another message in Arabic said that the break would happen in the El Geneina neighborhood.
These breaks happen a lot and have been named in different areas of Gaza. Not long ago, Rafah was a pretty safe place where there was not much fighting.
Since the truce with Hamas ended last Friday, the IDF has been attacking the area more often. -
‘They assured us it was secure region’ – Gaza resident
Israel bombed heavily in the Gaza Strip overnight.
Salah Al-Arja, who lives in Rafah in the south of the territory, said his house was destroyed while they were sleeping even though he thought they were in a safe place.
“We were sleeping and thought we were safe in Rafah. But at 10:20, they attacked with barrels and destroyed everything. There were children, women, and people who died,” he told Reuters.
“No place is safe in Rafah, Khan Younis, Gaza, or Dier. They lied about it being safe and made us leave, but then they bombed us anyway, even in crowded areas. ”
“They say it’s safe here, but it’s not. The whole Gaza strip is dangerous, and they’re lying to us. ” -
At least 20 ambulances and 150 passengers enter Egypt
There are around 350 people at the Rafah border crossing into Egypt waiting to have their IDs checked. Up until now, 150 people have crossed the border by taking buses.
There is no electronic system or passport stamping right now – everything is not working. There is currently a civilian Palestinian officer who checks passports. Only the people on a list of approved individuals are allowed to leave.
From here, they will be taken directly to Egypt where they will go through passport control.
There is another gate for cars to go through about 20 meters away from me.
We have seen many ambulances going to Egypt. They are carrying people who are very hurt.
From there, they will be moved to a field hospital that is about 10km (6 miles) away and then sent for more medical care.