Palestinian residents of the southern Gaza city of Rafah have reported an escalation of fighting Tuesday as Israeli forces pressed their assault on the border town once seen as the territory’s last refuge
Palestinian residents of the southern Gaza city of Rafah have reported an escalation of fighting Tuesday as Israeli forces pressed their assault on the border town once seen as the territory’s last refuge.
Israel says it is carrying out limited operations in eastern Rafah along the Gaza-Egypt border, as the United States and other allies of Israel have warned against a full-fledged offensive in the city.
Israeli shelling and airstrikes west of Rafah killed at least 37 people overnight and on Tuesday, most of them sheltering in tents, according to witnesses, emergency workers and hospital officials. The strikes pummeled the same area where strikes on Sunday triggered a deadly fire that engulfed tents in a camp for displaced Palestinians, killing 45 people.
Israeli leaders say their forces must enter Rafah to dismantle Hamas and return hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.
Fighting in Rafah has caused more than 1 million Palestinians to flee, most of whom had already been displaced in the war between Israel and Hamas. They now seek refuge in squalid tent camps and other war-ravaged areas, where they lack shelter, food, water and other essentials for survival, the U.N. says.
Israeli bombardments and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250. Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.
Currently:
— Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognize a Palestinian state as EU rift with Israel widens.
— Netanyahu says deadly Israeli strike in Rafah over the weekend was the result of a “tragic mishap.”
— As Israel attacks Rafah, Palestinians are living in tents and scrounging for food.
— An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon kills two people near a hospital, officials say.
Here’s the latest:
UNITED NATIONS — Algeria has circulated a proposed U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and ordering Israel to halt its military offensive in the southern city of Rafah immediately.
The draft resolution, obtained Wednesday evening by The Associated Press, also demands that the cease-fire be respected by all parties. It also calls for the immediate release of all hostages taken during Hamas’ attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
The draft demands compliance with previous council resolutions that call for the opening of all border crossings and humanitarian access to Gaza’s 2.3 million people who desperately need food and other aid.
The proposed resolution says that “the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip constitutes a threat to regional and international peace and security.”
The draft says Israel “shall immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in Rafah.”
The draft condemns “the indiscriminate targeting of civilians, including women and children, and civilian infrastructure” and reiterates the council’s demand for all parties to comply with international law requiring the protection of civilians.
Algeria’s U.N. ambassador, Amar Bendjama, who is also the Arab representative on the Security Council, told reporters after emergency closed council consultations Tuesday that he would be sending the draft resolution to the 15-member council later in the evening.
Algeria called the emergency Security Council meeting as Israel pushed ahead with its military operation in Rafah and as fighting escalated in the border city where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge. It followed Sunday night’s Israeli airstrikes that triggered a fire engulfing tents in a camp for displaced Palestinians west of Rafah, killing 45 people and injured over 100 others.
Some diplomats said they hoped for a quick vote, even as early as Wednesday.
Chinaese Ambassador Fu Cong told reporters: “It is our hope that it can be done as quickly as possible because life is in the balance.”
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said: “We’re waiting to see it and then we’ll react to it.”
The United States has vetoed multiple resolutions demanding a cease-fire in Gaza.
UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations chief says the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza is risking famine and is calling on Israel to enable safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance through all crossing points.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres notes the International Court of Justice’s recent orders to Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah and open the border crossing from Egypt for aid deliveries “which are binding and must be respected,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday.
He reiterated the secretary-general’s condemnation of Israel’s air strikes Sunday night that led to the killing and wounding of many Palestinians, and “as he has said before, the horror and suffering must stop immediately.”
Guterres calls for urgent efforts to prepare the Palestinian Authority to take over responsibilities for governing Gaza, Dujarric said.
“The devastation and the misery of the past seven months have reinforced the absolute need for Israelis, for Palestinians, for states of the region and the broader international community to take urgent steps that will enable the parties to re-engage on the long-delayed political path to achieve a two-state solution,” Dujarric said.
Israel’s Labor party has chosen a new leader, picking a retired military general in hopes of boosting its fortunes.
The party announced Tuesday that Yair Golan, a former deputy military chief of staff, won its primary election with over 95% of the vote. He trounced three little-known challengers.
