Civilians fled the southern Gaza city of Rafah ahead of a threatened Israeli ground offensive as Palestinians on Wednesday marked the anniversary of the Nakba ("catastrophe"), when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were driven from their homes during the creation of Israel in 1948. Read our liveblog for all the latest developments.
Summary:
- Palestinians on Wednesday marked the anniversary of the "Nakba", or "catastrophe", when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were driven from their homes during the creation of Israel in 1948. The anniversary comes as multiple battles between Israeli troops and Hamas militants across the Gaza Strip force new waves of mass displacement for Palestinian civilians.
- European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Wednesday urged Israel to end its military operation in Gaza's Rafah "immediately", warning that a failure to do so would undermine ties with the bloc.
- At least 35,233 Palestinians have been killed and 79,141 wounded in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Some 1,170 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks and 250 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures, with 132 still missing.
Yesterday's key developments:
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Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike on a car in the country's south killed two people Tuesday, with a source close to Iran-backed Hezbollah saying a field commander was among the dead.
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The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it would send more than $1 billion in additional arms and ammunition to Israel, three congressional aides said Tuesday. But it was not immediately known how soon the weapons would be delivered.
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Israeli tanks pushed deeper into eastern Rafah on Tuesday morning, entering the neighbourhoods of Al-Jneina, Al-Salam and Al-Brazil, residents said. Around 450,000 Palestinians have been driven out of Rafah over the past week, UNRWA said.
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The United Nations said Tuesday that women and children are believed to make up at least 56 percent of those killed in Gaza since the start of the war.
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Israel’s army on Tuesday said rockets fired from Lebanon had killed a civilian on the Israeli side of the border.
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent. For more on the health ministry’s casualty figures, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters, AP)
