Palestinians brace for Rafah assault as Israel promises evacuation plan
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of food supplies, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, January 16, 2024.
"Deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah – over half of Gaza’s population are sheltering in the area. The priority must be an immediate pause in the fighting to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire," Cameron said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In Yemen, the Iranian-backed Houthi militia held a funeral on Saturday for at least 17 militants killed during joint U.S.-British airstrikes, the Houthi-run Saba news agency said. Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble by Israeli airstrikes, artillery fire and controlled detonations. More than 85% of Gaza's 2.3 million inhabitants have been left homeless.
The ministry said Israeli forces had surrounded the hospital and were shooting in the vicinity, raising concerns about 300 medical staff, 450 patients and 10,000 people sheltering there. The military said it was evidence of how Hamas had exploited UNRWA, which has launched an internal probe and seen some donor countries freeze funding over Israel's allegations that 12 of its roughly 13,000 employees in the Gaza Strip had participated in the Oct. 7 attacks.
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