Israeli raid against Hamas across the Gaza Strip. In the night attacks were conducted by the IDF on the eastern part of Rafah, where Hamas police cars were hit. There is also shelling in the central and western parts of the city, where at least five Palestinians have been killed. Also during the night, air raids were conducted against the Shejaiya neighborhood in Gaza City in the north of the Strip, causing at least one death and several injuries. Attacks also occurred in the Jabalya refugee camp in the north.
The death toll in the enclave since October 7 has meanwhile exceeded 35,000, the Gaza Ministry of Health said. Speaking on CBS, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States believes Israel has killed more civilians than Hamas terrorists during the war in Gaza. And he said the country needs to do more to mitigate civilian deaths.
Blinken to Gallant: “Protect civilians and humanitarians”
In a telephone conversation, Blinken reiterated to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant the US opposition to a military ground offensive in Rafah and ”underlined the urgent need to protect civilians and humanitarian workers in Gaza” . As stated in a note from the US State Department, Blinken also asked Gallant to ”ensure that aid can enter Gaza and encourage its distribution within Gaza while Israel aims at Hamas’s objectives”. Blinken also ”expressed the United States’ determined commitment to Israel’s security and the shared goal of defeating Hamas,” the note reads.
Gallant: “Forward until Hamas is destroyed”
The war the IDF is waging against Hamas “will shape the lives of Israelis for decades to come,” Gallant said at a Remembrance Day ceremony on Mount Herzl, explaining that Israel had no choice but to go to war. “The conflict will continue until we return our hostages and dismantle Hamas and its military capabilities,” he said.
In a statement released yesterday, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari explained that “the Israel Defense Forces are continuing their targeted operation against Hamas in Rafah as part of efforts to achieve a definitive defeat of Hamas and restore home all our hostages.” “Since the beginning of the operation we have eliminated dozens of terrorists”, he added, underlining that “before our operations we invite civilians to temporarily move towards humanitarian areas and move away from the crossfire in which Hamas puts them. Our war is against Hamas, not against the people of Gaza.”
Israel intensifies operations in Jabalia camp
In Jabalia, Israeli tanks and troops are increasingly advancing into the eastern and central parts of the camp – the largest of Gaza’s eight historic refugee camps – with furious battles between the army and Palestinian groups. Al Jazeera writes it.
UNRWA: almost 360,000 Palestinians fled Rafah
The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) says nearly 360,000 people have fled Rafah, Gaza, since Israel issued the evacuation order on May 6. “There’s nowhere to go. There is no security without a ceasefire,” the agency said in a post on
