Israel sets deadline for Rafah offensive
Israel will launch its long-threatened offensive against Rafah next month if Hamas has not freed the remaining hostages held in Gaza by the start of Ramadan, Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz said Sunday., AFP reports.
Israel threatened Sunday to invade Gaza's Rafah by the start of Ramadan if Hamas does not return the remaining hostages by then, despite international pressure to protect Palestinian civilians sheltering in the southern city.
The Gaza Strip's second-largest hospital has been put "completely out of service", a spokesperson for the Gaza health ministry said on Sunday. "There are only four medical teams – 25 staff – currently caring for patients" inside the Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra told Reuters.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 28,985 people have been killed and 68,883 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.
