Israel-Hamas war
The leaders of Canada, Australia and New Zealand on Thursday called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, according to a joint statement released in response to reports about Israel’s planned military operation in Rafah. “We are gravely concerned by indications that Israel is planning a ground offensive into Rafah. A military operation into Rafah would be catastrophic,” the statement by the prime ministers of the three countries said. Read our liveblog for all the latest developments on the Israel-Hamas war.
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Summary:
- Israel will press ahead with an offensive in Rafah after allowing civilians to vacate the area, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday.
- The 22 Arab countries at the United Nations urged the UN Security Council to demand an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.
- Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas called on Wednesday for Hamas to accelerate an exchange of hostages for prisoners with Israel to spare Palestinian people further “catastrophe”, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
- With Palestinians in Rafah “staring death in the face”, United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said an Israeli ground invasion there would make humanitarian relief nearly impossible.
- The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 28,576 people have been killed and 68,291 wounded in Israeli strikes on the enclave since October 7, the vast majority women and children. Israeli officials say about 1,140 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in southern Israel. Militant fighters took some 250 hostages during the attack and 132 are still in Gaza, according to Israeli figures.
- Negotiations to pause the Israel–Hamas war and free the remaining hostages appeared to falter in Cairo on Wednesday, as displaced Gazans braced for an expected Israeli assault on their last refuge of Rafah.
- The Israeli military said on Wednesday that its fighter jets “began a series of strikes in Lebanon”, raising fears of a war between the two countries after months of cross-border fire.
- President Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey was ready for cooperation with Egypt to help rebuild Gaza as he made his first visit to the country since 2012.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, Reuters)
This story originally appeared on France24
