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EXPLANER
Israel carried out airstrikes in Rafah where 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering, raising fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.
Here’s how things look on Monday February 12, 2024:
Humanitarian crisis in Gaza
- Israel carried out airstrikes overnight in Rafah, southern Gaza, killing at least 67 people. Israeli forces struck homes, hospitals and three mosques, Palestinian officials said.
- Rafah is home to 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom have been displaced by Israeli offensives in northern and central Gaza.
- The total Palestinian death toll in Gaza stands at 28,340 since the war began on October 7.
- The Israeli military said it rescued two captives from the Gaza Strip on Monday, during an Israeli raid that included strikes on Rafah.
- The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has called for the protection of its staff after multiple incidents, including the killing of two paramedics who came to rescue six-year-old Hind Rajab. Rajab’s body was found in a car.
Regional tensions and diplomacy
- US President Joe Biden receives King Abdullah II of Jordan in Washington on Monday. The meeting’s agenda includes discussions on the Israeli military operation in Rafah, the release of captives in Gaza and the growing concern over a possible Israeli ground operation in Rafah.
- A ship was attacked by two missiles in the key Bab el-Mandeb strait on Monday, the latest attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Doha for negotiations on securing a ceasefire in Gaza with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The Palestinian Wafa news agency reported that the two leaders would meet on Monday.
- US Senator Bernie Sanders said “no one in Congress” should support the Biden administration sending military aid to Israel, in an article on X.
Occupied West Bank
- A pro-settler organization released a report on Sunday showing that the Israeli settler population in the occupied West Bank increased by almost 3% in 2023 and expects growth to accelerate this year.
- The number of settlers in the West Bank now stands at 517,407, compared to 502,991 a year earlier.
- Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian, Hassan al-Sayed, and seized a vehicle in the city of Jenin on Sunday evening, Wafa reported.
- Wafa also reported that Israeli forces shot and wounded a young Palestinian on Sunday evening near the entrance to the town of Battir, west of Bethlehem.
- Israeli occupying forces arrested five Palestinian youths in the Old City of Hebron on Sunday evening, Wafa reported.
