64
Health officials say at least 92 people were killed overnight by Israeli attacks, including on a kindergarten in Rafah.
Here’s how things go on Sunday, February 4, 2024:
Humanitarian crisis in Gaza
- At least 92 people were killed overnight in Rafah, a town in the besieged southern Gaza Strip where displaced Palestinians have taken refuge, Gaza’s health ministry said.
- At least two children were killed in the attack as Israeli forces attacked a kindergarten, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.
- Concerns over a possible Israeli ground incursion into Rafah have increased in recent days, with hundreds of thousands of displaced people seeking refuge from the fighting in makeshift shelters and encampments.
- A strike on a fuel tank near the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis killed one person and damaged hospital buildings, Wafa reported.
- Israeli soldiers continue to movie committing crimes themselves even after an ICJ ruling ordering Israel to take steps to prevent genocide in Gaza, the Bisan Research and Development Center said.
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he wanted allegations that staff from the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees took part in the October 7 Hamas attacks to be “fully investigated”, but that residents of Gaza should not be left “literally starving”.
- Since October 7, at least 27,238 people have been killed and 66,452 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza. The revised death toll from the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel stands at 1,139.
Regional tensions and diplomacy
- The US and UK issued a joint statement saying their armies – with support from allies including Australia, Bahrain and Canada – struck 36 Houthi targets in 13 locations across Yemen.
- In addition to its airstrikes on Yemen, the U.S. military says it shot down six Houthi anti-ship missiles as they prepared to be launched against ships in the Red Sea.
- The UN Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss recent US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.
- Iran says US attacks in Iraq and Syria are a “strategic mistake” that will only add to tensions and instability in the Middle East.
- Regarding negotiations for the release of captives and a ceasefire in Gaza, a senior Hamas official in Lebanon said the Palestinian group needed more time to “announce our position” on a proposed framework.
Occupied West Bank
- Israeli forces continue their almost daily raids in the occupied West Bank.
- During the night, Israeli soldiers stormed Beita south of Nablus, Arrabeh south of Jenin, the Shu’fat refugee camp north of Jerusalem and Qaffin north of Tulkarem.
