Israeli forces pounded several areas across Gaza on Wednesday, and residents reported fierce fighting overnight in Rafah in the south of the Palestinian enclave. The assault came as Norway's largest pension fund said it had divested from US industrial group Caterpillar because of the risk its equipment was being used by the Israeli army in Gaza. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
This blog is no longer being updated. For more coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, please click here.
Summary:
- Israeli forces pounded several areas across Gaza on Wednesday, and residents reported fierce fighting overnight in Rafah in the south of the Palestinian enclave.
- Norway's largest pension fund said Wednesday it had divested from US industrial group Caterpillar because of the risk its equipment was being used by the Israeli army in Gaza.
- At least 37,718 Palestinians have been killed and 86,377 injured in Israel's war in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The Hamas-led October 7 attacks resulted in the deaths of more than 1,190 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures. Some 250 people were taken hostage, with about 120 remaining in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Many have been declared dead by Israeli authorities.
Yesterday's key developments:
- US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urged Israel not to open a second front against Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, saying the ongoing fighting could "easily become a regional war" as he met with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at the Pentagon on Tuesday.
- Israel’s Supreme Court Tuesday ruled that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for military service, a ruling that could split Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s coalition.
- The Gaza civil defence agency said an Israeli air strike early on Tuesday killed 10 members of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh's family. Israel's military said its forces had targeted militants overnight in Gaza City who had been involved in the planning of attacks on Israel.
About casualty figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry:
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, AP and Reuters)
