Attacks on Rafah intensify despite condemnation

These are the main developments from today:

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, says that he expects fighting in Gaza to continue throughout 2024 at least.
• Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report that Israeli attacks to the west of Deir el-Balah have killed at least one Palestinian and injured others.
• Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has met with his Palestinian counterpart and leading officials from several Middle Eastern countries in Madrid following Spain, Ireland and Norway’s formal recognition of a Palestinian state.
• Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unleashed criticism towards Western leaders over their “silence” on the Gaza war, accusing them of being complicit in Israel’s “barbarism”.
• Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reports that Tehran has provided Yemen’s Houthis with Ghadr, a type of sea-launched medium-range ballistic missile.
• The Israeli military says three of its soldiers serving in the Nahal Brigade have been killed in the south of the Gaza Strip.
• There were confrontations between Palestinian fighters and Israeli forces in the town of Tammun, about five kilometres (three miles) south of Tubas city in the occupied West Bank this morning.
  

  Scabies spreading among Palestinian prisoners

  Contagious skin diseases are rapidly spreading among Palestinians in Israeli jails, with dozens of cases seen recently by lawyers and released detainees, reports the Palestinian Prisoners Society.

  The most prevalent of the diseases is scabies, it says, a highly contagious infestation caused by small ticks. Its spread is worsened by poor hygiene conditions, overcrowding and limited water in Israel’s jails, according to the group, specifically the facilities in Israel’s Negev desert and Megiddo.

  The group claims Israel is leaving infected prisoners without treatment and even transferring them to other areas of the prison where the disease can spread, acts that it says amount to “medical crimes”.

  Israeli brigade simulates taking over targets in Lebanon

  The Israeli military says its Golani Brigade, an infantry brigade formed in 1948, has completed exercises that “improved the brigade’s readiness for a northern combat scenario”.

  It said the brigade’s soldiers “trained on taking over targets along the terrain routes simulating Lebanon”.

  Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Israeli military have traded fire since October 8, when the Lebanese armed group launched an attack in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

  In recent months, the severity and frequency of these cross-border attacks have increased. Coupled with an escalation in tensions between Iran and Israel this has led to heightened fears of greater regional conflagration.

  Former US ambassador Nikki Haley meets with Israel’s Gallant, Gantz

  Haley, a former US envoy to the UN and failed presidential candidate, has met with two key Israeli cabinet officials during her trip to Israel.

  Hosted by Israeli Defense Minister Gallant, Haley affirmed the importance of US-Israel ties to counter their common foe – Iran, said Gallant in a post on X.

  In a separate meeting with Benny Gantz, Haley discussed Israel’s “right to fight wherever necessary to remove the Hamas threat”, reported The Times of Israel, citing Gantz’s office.

  Earlier in her Israel trip, Haley, accompanied by Israeli parliament member Danny Danon, was photographed writing “Finish them” on an Israeli shell as she toured military locations on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.

  No indication that Rafah crossing could open soon: Palestinian official

  The Palestinian health minister says there has been no indication from Israel that the Rafah crossing, used to bring in essential humanitarian and medical supplies to the Gaza Strip, could be opened soon.

  “Since it was closed, we have no indication that the Israelis would like it to be opened any time soon,” Majed Abu Ramadan told reporters on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly in Geneva.

  Rafah was a major entry point for humanitarian relief before Israel seized control of the crossing from the Palestinian side earlier this month.

  • What is the Philadelphi Corridor?

    We have just reported that Israel claims to be in control of 75 percent of the Philadelphi Corridor.

    Here is some more information about the key buffer zone:

    • The Philadelphi Corridor, also known as the Philadelphi Route, is the 14km (8.7 miles) long strip of land representing the entire border area between Gaza and Egypt.
    • It was established as a buffer zone controlled and patrolled by Israeli armed forces as part of the 1979 peace treaty with Egypt.
    • Its stated purpose was to stop weapons and material from reaching the hands of Palestinians inside the Gaza Strip, which Israel occupied, and to prevent people from moving between the Palestinian lands and Egypt without tough checks.
    • An agreement after the Israeli disengagement from the area in 2005 allowed Egypt to safeguard the Egyptian side of the corridor, with the Palestinian Authority responsible for the other side.
    • But Hamas was in full control of the enclave some two years after the Israeli withdrawal.
    • Israel wants full control of the border area, supposedly to ensure its security. But this would amount to a de facto full reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, something Israel and the United States have publicly disagreed over.

    Fighting in Gaza will continue for at least 7 months: Israeli official

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, says that he expects fighting in Gaza to continue throughout 2024 at least.

    He also told Israel’s public broadcaster Kan that the Israeli military was in control of 75 percent of the Philadelphi Corridor, a buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt.

    One killed near Deir el-Balah

    Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that Israeli strikes to the west of Deir el-Balah have killed at least one Palestinian and injured others.

    Deir el-Balah in central Gaza is one of the main areas Palestinians fleeing Rafah have turned to for shelter. However, areas around the city have continued to face regular air strikes and artillery shelling.

    US ‘accomplice’ in ‘genocidal war’: Palestinian rights advocate

    Rights advocate Helmy al-Araj, speaking at the Ramallah news conference, has singled out the US for reportedly sending Israel the weapons it used to bomb a tent camp in Rafah, killing dozens.

    “We reiterate that the US is an accomplice in this crime, as they continue to support Israel and provide them with arms,” said al-Araj, as well as “total political and diplomatic” backing.

    ‘It is Israel’s goal to starve the population’ in Gaza: NGO director

    Muhammad Eida, a Palestinian NGO director, is now discussing the lack of health services in the enclave.

    He issues an “SOS message to declare the Gaza Strip a famine-stricken zone as the Israeli genocidal war enters the eighth month”.

    He says Palestinians in Gaza are suffering from starvation, lack of medical supplies, malnutrition among children, dehydration and diseases from the contamination and pollution caused by the overflow of sewage water.

    “Many dead bodies are still trapped underneath the ruins,” he says, adding that others are “still strewn on the roads”.

    “It is Israel’s goal to starve the population to force them out of Gaza Strip” he continues.

    According to Article 14 of the second additional protocol of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1977, it is illegal to starve a civil population as an act of aggression, he says.

    He adds that targeting or destroying property or other basic necessities of life is also prohibited.

    Gaza is a ‘famine-stricken zone’: NGO director

    Palestinian NGOs and professional unions are holding a news conference in Ramallah on the situation in Gaza.

    A video recorded by Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) in Deir el-Balah, is currently being shown.

    “What is required now is to declare Gaza Strip as a famine-stricken zone”, he says.

    He explains that sewage water has overflowed between tents, leaving people without any water supply.

    The situation, he says, is getting more dire by the minute and is made worse by the “ruthless, merciless bombardment by the Israeli warplanes”.

    GBU-39 bombs ‘not always accurate’

    Omar Ashour, a professor of security and military studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says Israel’s military likely avoided naming the exact bomb used to attack Rafah’s tent encampment – now reported to be a US-made GBU-39 – so as not to “embarrass” the administration of US President Biden.

    While they are “precision-guided”, GBU-39 bombs are “not always accurate”, hitting their target just 80 to 90 percent of the time, Ashour told Al Jazeera.

    They have the potential to miss “by a significant margin”, causing extensive civilian casualties in densely populated areas like Rafah, he said.

    “It’s very telling that this is allowed to continue while knowing that there will be significant death among innocent people”, said Ashour.

    What bomb was used on Rafah’s tent encampment?

    An Israeli air attack on a tent encampment north of Rafah on Sunday night killed at least 45 Palestinians, many women and children, in a massive inferno. But what were the weapons that caused such devastation?

    Images of fragments of weaponry believed to be used in this attack obtained by Al Jazeera’s Sanad Verification Agency show a GBU-39/B small-diameter bomb made by US manufacturer Boeing.

    This tracks with findings by US news outlet CNN, which cites a geolocated video showing the tail of a “US-made GBU-39 small diameter bomb”, a finding it verified with four explosive weapons experts.

    Palestinian Health Ministry calls for ‘safe corridors’ in Gaza for fuel, medical aid

    Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health, has issued a statement in which he made the following points:

    • The Israeli occupation deliberately destroyed the health services in Rafah and the north of the Gaza Strip.
    • There is no health capacity to deal with the successive massacres in Rafah and the northern Gaza Strip.
    • Israel deceives the world that the al-Mawasi areas are safe and commits horrific massacres there.
    • The Health Ministry demands the introduction of field hospitals and urgent medical teams to Rafah and northern Gaza.
    • It demands the provision of safe corridors for the immediate entry of fuel and medical aid.
    • It also demands an end to the ongoing Israeli threats to health institutions and teams.
      

      Palestinian PM visits Madrid after Spain, Norway and Ireland recognise statehood

      Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has met with his  Palestinian counterpart, Mohammad Mustafa and leading officials from several Middle Eastern countries in Madrid.

      The meetings follow Spain, Ireland and Norway’s formal recognition of a Palestinian state.

      With Spain and Ireland, there are now nine members of the 27-nation European Union that officially recognise a Palestinian state.

      Madrid and Dublin are pushing for the EU to take measures against Israel for its continued attacks on southern Gaza’s city of Rafah.

      Norway is not an EU member, but its foreign policy is usually aligned with that of the bloc.

      Slovenia, an EU member, will decide on Thursday whether to recognise a Palestinian state and forward its decision to parliament for final approval.

      South Africa goes to the polls in key test for ANC’s grip on power

      In addition to this live page focusing on Israel’s war on Gaza, we have more live coverage on our website.

      South Africans are today voting in elections that could test the ANC’s 30-year rule.

      ‘We expect Gantz to resign from the government’: Israeli opposition leaders

      Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has met with Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party, and National Unity Party member Gideon Saar.

      In a post on X, Lapid said the three had agreed on “an action plan to replace the government for the future of the State of Israel”.

      He said they expected Israel’s war cabinet member, Benny Gantz, to resign and join their plans to form a new government.

      Earlier in the month, Gantz threatened to quit the government if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t provide a clear plan for what happens after the war on Gaza.

      Erdogan: ‘The spirit of the United Nations is dead in Gaza’

      Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has unleashed criticism at Western leaders over their “silence” on the Gaza war, accusing them of being complicit in Israel’s “barbarism”.

      “European heads of state and government, you have become complicit in Israel’s vampirism due to your silence,” he said, adding that the US’s hands are especially “stained with blood”.

      Erdogan, in fiery remarks to Turkish lawmakers, also took aim at the UN, asking what good the grouping is if it cannot even stop “genocide” in the 21st century.

      “The UN cannot even protect its own staff. What are you waiting for to act? The spirit of the United Nations is dead in Gaza,” said Erdogan.

      Erdogan has been one of Israel’s most vocal critics during the war, calling it a “terror state” and imposing restrictions on trade with the country.

      Iran provided sea-launched ballistic missiles to Houthis: Report

      Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reports that Tehran has provided Yemen’s Houthis with Ghadr, a type of sea-launched medium-range ballistic missile.

      The news agency says the missiles have presented serious challenges to the US and Israel’s interests in the region.

      The Houthis are an Iran-aligned group based in Yemen who have targeted Israel-linked ships in the crucial shipping channels of the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab strait and the Gulf of Aden since November.

      The Houthis say the attacks are a response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and the international community’s failure to put an end to it.

      Gaza’s death toll rises

      At least 36,171 Palestinians have been killed and 81,420 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, its Health Ministry says.

      The ministry added that 75 people were killed and 284 injured in the latest 24-hour reporting period.