Seven months of Israel-Hamas war
Israel conducted airstrikes on Wednesday Rafah and reported ground forces engaging in targeted raids in the southern Gaza city. Talks to end the seven-month conflict resumed in Cairo amidst the escalation. Despite international condemnation, Israel deployed tanks into Rafah, where Palestinian civilians sought refuge near the Egypt border. This action followed Israel's capture of a key crossing on Tuesday, crucial for delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza amid the blockade. (Photo: Reuters)
Overnight attack on Rafah
In Rafah, Palestinians were captured on AFPTV footage, frantically working in the darkness to rescue survivors from beneath the debris of a collapsed building. The survivors emerged, covered in blood and dust.
Muhanad Ahmad Qishta, a 29-year-old resident of Rafah, expressed the overwhelming sense of terror and constant worry that has gripped the city. "We are living in Rafah in extreme fear and endless anxiety," he told AFP. "Places the Israeli army claims to be safe are also being bombed," he further added. (Photo: AFP)
US pauses weapons shipment to Israel
President Joe Biden's decision to hold up delivery of high payload munitions to Israel was taken over a possible Israeli offensive in Rafah that Washington believes could put Palestinian civilians at risk, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. (Reuters)
Palestinians evacuate Rafah amid attack
Palestinians were seen travelling in a vehicle as they fleed Rafah after Israeli forces launched a ground and air operation in the eastern part of the southern Gaza city (Photo: Reuters)
Famine in Gaza
The Rafah border crossing, crucial for humanitarian aid into Gaza, remained closed after being seized by an Israeli tank brigade. Northern Gaza faces severe famine according to the UN. Although Israel claimed to reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing, no aid entered due to lack of reception on the Palestinian side. Intermittent explosions and gunfire were heard near Rafah, with reports of launches towards Kerem Shalom by the Israeli military. (Photo: AP)
'Will not end war': Israel
As the Palestinians struggle to survive amid the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the Rafah operation as "a very important step" in denying Hamas "a passage that was essential for establishing its reign of terror". Meanwhile, an Israeli government spokesperson said that it will not agree to end war and leave Hamas in power. (Photo: Reuters)
Gaza's casualty count on rise
At least 34,844 Palestinians were killed and 78,404 injured in Israel's military offensive in Gaza since Oct. 7, Gaza's health ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. (Photo: AFP)
'Three days of fuel' in Gaza hospitals
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus raised concerns that hospitals in the Gaza Strip's south had only "three days of fuel left" because of the border closures. "Without fuel all humanitarian operations will stop", he posted on X. (Photo: Reuters)