🔴 Live: Deadly Israeli strikes hit Gaza as fierce fighting takes place in north, south

1 month ago 38

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with air raids on Thursday as clashes took place between the Israeli army and Hamas fighters in the Palestinian territory. The intense aerial bombardment came despite international pressure for an immediate ceasefire in the enclave, where the UN says famine is looming in the north. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments on Israel's war on Hamas.

Issued on: 28/03/2024 - 07:43Modified: 28/03/2024 - 12:15

2 min

Smoke billows over buildings following Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 27, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Summary:

The southern Gaza Strip came under intense Israeli bombardment overnight despite international pressure for an immediate ceasefire. Airstrikes and intense fighting continued on Thursday around three of the Strip's hospitals, raising fears for patients, medical staff and displaced people inside them.
Israel agreed to reschedule cancelled talks with the US over the Israeli military’s plan to mount an operation in Rafah after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu scrapped a delegation’s planned visit to Washington in protest of the UN Security Council’s resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The United Nations Security Council adopted a biding resolution on Monday demanding an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza and the release of hostages held by militants. The United States had abstained from the vote at the Council, allowing the resolution to pass.
The United Nations reported late Wednesday that famine "is ever closer to becoming a reality in northern Gaza," and said the territory's health system is collapsing "due to ongoing hostilities and access constraints."
At least 32,552 Palestinians have been killed and 74,980 wounded since Israel began its offensive on Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. Around 1,140 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks and 250 people taken hostage, according to Israeli figures, with 132 still missing.

Yesterday's key developments:

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement fired a barrage of rockets into northern Israel on Wednesday, killing a civilian.
An official belonging to Lebanese group Jamaa Islamiya says an Israeli strike on an emergency centre killed seven "rescuers" overnight. The strike happened in Habariyeh, in southern Lebanon.
A witness said Israeli forces are surrounding the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, where thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge from the fighting.

About casualty figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry:

Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”.

The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.

In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.

For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)