Here’s what happened today
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- At least 31 Palestinians were killed across Gaza, with 21 killed in Israel’s ongoing assault on the southern city of Rafah.
- Israel’s military said it has taken “operational control” of the Philadelphi Corridor between Gaza and Egypt, in a move experts say increases the chance of escalation.
- Israel’s National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said the war could last another seven months, through the end of the year.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he could not say whether weapons provided by Washington were used in an Israeli strike that killed 45 civilians near Rafah over the weekend, but warned Israel any military gains would be lost without “a day after plan”.
Israeli drones open fire on fleeing Palestinians in Rafah
Rafah residents say Israeli tanks pushed into Tal as-Sultan in the west along with Yibna and near Shaboura in the centre of the southernmost Gaza city.
They later retreated towards a buffer zone on the border with Egypt, rather than staying put as they have in other offensives.
“We received distress calls from residents in Tal as-Sultan where drones targeted displaced citizens as they moved from areas where they were staying toward the safe areas,” said Haitham al-Hams, deputy director of ambulance and emergency services in Rafah.
Health Minister Majed Abu Raman urged the United States to pressure Israel to open the Rafah crossing to aid, saying there was no indication Israeli authorities will do so soon and patients in besieged Gaza are dying from lack of treatment.
Open letter by Gaza academics and university administrators to the world
We have come together as Palestinian academics and staff of Gaza universities to affirm our existence, the existence of our colleagues and our students, and the insistence on our future, in the face of all current attempts to erase us.
The Israeli occupation forces have demolished our buildings but our universities live on. We reaffirm our collective determination to remain on our land and to resume teaching, study, and research in Gaza, at our own Palestinian universities, at the earliest opportunity.
We call upon our friends and colleagues around the world to resist the ongoing campaign of scholasticide in occupied Palestine, to work alongside us in rebuilding our demolished universities, and to refuse all plans seeking to bypass, erase, or weaken the integrity of our academic institutions.
The future of our young people in Gaza depends upon us, and our ability to remain on our land in order to continue to serve the coming generations of our people.
Israeli military says two killed in car ramming near Nablus
The vehicle attack occurred near an illegal Israeli settlement outside of the occupied West Bank city.
The military later told the AFP news agency that “two Israeli citizens were killed”. A manhunt is under way after the attacker escaped the scene.
Israeli army and settler attacks in the occupied West Bank have killed more than 500 Palestinians since October 7 when the war on Gaza began.
Hamas welcomed the attack near Nablus, saying in a statement it was a “natural response” against the “crimes of the enemy”.
Israel’s defence chief threatens Lebanon with ‘harsh reality’
Israel’s army has killed 320 Hezbollah fighters since October 8 in cross-border attacks, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says.
He made the claim during a televised news conference following an “operational assessment” of the Northern Command. Gallant accused Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah of dragging Lebanon into a “harsh reality”.
“The ones who will pay the price are the residents of Lebanon and Hezbollah forces,” said Gallant, showing images purportedly of dead Hezbollah fighters.
Tension has flared along the border between Lebanon and Israel since the war on Gaza began, in the deadliest clashes since the two sides fought a full-scale war in 2006.
