Israel’s war on Gaza live: 107 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks
- Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 107 Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks across Gaza in last 24 hours.
- US Secretary of State Blinken visits Egypt and Qatar to push for a deal between Israel and Hamas on a truce and the release of captives in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Israeli ambassador arrives at Russian foreign ministry
Simona Halperin has arrived at the Russian foreign ministry a day after authorities said she would be summoned over “unacceptable comments” in an interview according to state-owned news agency RIA Novosti.
In the interview with the Kommersant newspaper, Halperin accused Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of playing down the importance of the Holocaust and said Russia was being too friendly with Hamas.
Israeli forces continue to besiege Khan Younis hospital, doctor says
Dr Nahed Abu Taima, the director of the surgical division at the Nasser Medical Complex, tells Al Jazeera the Israeli army is continuing to besiege the hospital while also targeting areas nearby.
“Since the siege, we have received 630 wounded patients, most of them seriously injured,” he said.
“We face major and serious challenges, including severe shortages of fuel and medical supplies. We also have a huge shortage of medical personnel.”
Abu Taima added that the accumulation of waste in and around the hospital poses a serious health threat.
Rafah attack could result in ‘large scale’ loss of civilian lives: UN
The UN says “everything possible” must be done to avoid an Israeli attack on Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, which it says could lead to a “large scale” loss of life.
“We can warn what might unfold with the ground invasion, and we can make clear what the law says,” the UN humanitarian office warned.
“Under international humanitarian law, indiscriminate bombing of densely populated areas may amount to war crimes,” Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said at a briefing in Geneva.
“So to be clear, intensified hostilities in Rafah in this situation could lead to large scale loss of civilian lives, and we must do everything possible within our power to avoid that.”
About 1.4 million people are sheltering in Rafah after being ordered there by Israeli forces, which previously described the area as a “safe zone”.
Israeli leaders reviewing planned attack on Rafah: Report
Israeli authorities are reviewing military plans for an attack on southern Rafah, a city once called a “safe zone” where Palestinians were ordered to move to.
“Residents of the Gaza Strip will be evacuated from Rafah before initiating military operations there,” Israeli public broadcaster KAN quoted “political sources” as saying.
On Monday, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant reiterated the military’s “next target” in Gaza will be Rafah, claiming it’s the last remaining Hamas stronghold.
Rights groups have warned against any Israeli offensive in Rafah, which could result in a huge loss of lives with an estimated 1.4 million people sheltering there.
Over 100 aid trucks ‘blocked’ from entering Gaza by protesters
Israel’s Channel 12 is reporting that 132 aid trucks are stuck at the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing and cannot enter the Gaza Strip due to the demonstration.
The media outlet also reported that 70 trucks had managed to enter the Gaza Strip before the blockade by the protesters began.
Israelis demanding that the release of captives come before any more humanitarian aid can cross into Gaza have staged several similar protests in recent weeks.
Attack reported south of Yemen’s Aden: UKMTO
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency received a report of an attack 50 nautical miles (92km) south of Yemen’s Aden.
Authorities are investigating the incident and no further details were provided.
It remains unclear who is behind the attack. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have regularly targeted vessels in the region in a show of solidarity with Palestinians facing Israeli attacks in Gaza.
6,870 people arrested in occupied West Bank since Gaza war began
Israeli forces arrested 1,236 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including 30 women and 73 children, in the past month.
This brings the number of detainees in the occupied territory since October 7 to 6,870, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society says.
Those arrested and their families were subjected to attacks that included severe beatings, and the use of relatives as hostages to pressure a wanted person to turn themselves in, it said.
