More Rafah evacuations as Israel strikes the strip
UN says humanitarian relief is blocked after Israeli troops defied international opposition and entered eastern Rafah
Published: 06:05 PM,May 11,2024 | EDITED : 12:05 AM,May 12,2024
Palestinians check the rubble of a residential building destroyed in an Israeli strike in Al-Zawayda. — AFP
RAFAH: Israeli strikes on Saturday hit parts of Gaza including Rafah where Israel expanded an evacuation order and the UN warned of 'epic' disaster if an outright invasion of the crowded city occurs.
Journalists, medics and witnesses reported strikes across the coastal territory, where the UN says humanitarian relief is blocked after Israeli troops defied international opposition and entered eastern Rafah this week, effectively shutting a key aid crossing and suspending traffic through another.
At least 21 people were killed during strikes in central Gaza and taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah city, a hospital statement said.
Bodies covered in white lay on the ground in a courtyard of the facility. A man in a baseball cap leaned over one body bag, clasping a dust-covered hand that protruded.
The feet of another corpse poked from under a blanket bearing the picture of a large teddy bear.
In Rafah, witnesses reported intense air strikes near the crossing with Egypt, and images showed smoke rising over the city. Other strikes occurred in north Gaza, witnesses said.
Israeli troops on Tuesday seized and closed the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing -- through which all fuel passes into Gaza -- after ordering residents of eastern Rafah to evacuate. The army said on Saturday troops were engaged in 'operational activity' at the crossing.
While mediation efforts towards a truce and captives release appear to stall, Palestinian group Hamas's armed wing released a video of a captive seen alive in Gaza -- the third such footage released in less than a month. The man is seen speaking in the 11-second clip.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,971 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory's health ministry.
A US State Department report on Friday said it was 'reasonable to assess' that Israel violated norms on international law in its use of weapons from the United States but it did not find enough evidence to block shipments. The State Department submitted its report two days after President Joe Biden publicly threatened to withhold certain bombs and artillery shells if Israel goes ahead with an all-out assault on Rafah, where the United Nations said 1.4 million had been sheltering.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday that Gaza risked an 'epic humanitarian disaster' if Israel launched a full-scale ground operation in Rafah.
The army said it reopened Kerem Shalom crossing near Rafah on Wednesday, but aid agencies cautioned that getting assistance through the militarised area remained extremely difficult. — AFP
Journalists, medics and witnesses reported strikes across the coastal territory, where the UN says humanitarian relief is blocked after Israeli troops defied international opposition and entered eastern Rafah this week, effectively shutting a key aid crossing and suspending traffic through another.
At least 21 people were killed during strikes in central Gaza and taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah city, a hospital statement said.
Bodies covered in white lay on the ground in a courtyard of the facility. A man in a baseball cap leaned over one body bag, clasping a dust-covered hand that protruded.
The feet of another corpse poked from under a blanket bearing the picture of a large teddy bear.
In Rafah, witnesses reported intense air strikes near the crossing with Egypt, and images showed smoke rising over the city. Other strikes occurred in north Gaza, witnesses said.
Israeli troops on Tuesday seized and closed the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing -- through which all fuel passes into Gaza -- after ordering residents of eastern Rafah to evacuate. The army said on Saturday troops were engaged in 'operational activity' at the crossing.
While mediation efforts towards a truce and captives release appear to stall, Palestinian group Hamas's armed wing released a video of a captive seen alive in Gaza -- the third such footage released in less than a month. The man is seen speaking in the 11-second clip.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,971 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory's health ministry.
A US State Department report on Friday said it was 'reasonable to assess' that Israel violated norms on international law in its use of weapons from the United States but it did not find enough evidence to block shipments. The State Department submitted its report two days after President Joe Biden publicly threatened to withhold certain bombs and artillery shells if Israel goes ahead with an all-out assault on Rafah, where the United Nations said 1.4 million had been sheltering.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday that Gaza risked an 'epic humanitarian disaster' if Israel launched a full-scale ground operation in Rafah.
The army said it reopened Kerem Shalom crossing near Rafah on Wednesday, but aid agencies cautioned that getting assistance through the militarised area remained extremely difficult. — AFP