Israel strikes Gaza as more Rafah evacuations ordered
At least 21 were killed during strikes in central Gaza and taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah city
RAFAH: Israeli strikes on Saturday hit parts of Gaza including Rafah where Israel expanded an evacuation order and the UN warned of an “epic” disaster if an outright invasion of the crowded city goes ahead.
AFP journalists, medics and witnesses reported strikes across the coastal territory, where the UN says humanitarian relief is blocked after Israeli troops defied international opposition and entered eastern Rafah this week, effectively shutting a key aid crossing and suspending traffic through another.
At least 21 people were killed during strikes in central Gaza and taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah city, a hospital statement said.
In Rafah, witnesses reported intense air strikes near the crossing with Egypt, and AFP images showed smoke rising over the city. Other strikes occurred in north Gaza, witnesses said.
Hamas on Saturday accused Israel of “expanding the incursion into Rafah to include new areas in the centre and the west of the city”. Israeli troops on Tuesday seized and closed the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing -through which all fuel passes into Gaza -- after ordering residents of eastern Rafah to evacuate. The army said on Saturday troops were engaged in “operational activity” at the crossing, where they fought against “armed terrorists” and found “numerous underground tunnel shafts”.
While mediation efforts towards a truce and hostage release appeared to stall, Hamas’s armed wing released a video of a captive seen alive in Gaza -- the third such footage released in less than a month.
‘Use of US weapons likely violated humanitarian law’
Meanwhile, in Washington, the Biden administration said on Friday that Israel’s use of US-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but that wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
The finding of “reasonable” evidence to conclude that the U.S. ally had breached international law protecting civilians in the way it conducted its war against Hamas was the strongest statement that the administration has yet made on the matter. It was released in a summary of a report being delivered to Congress on Friday.
But the caveat that the administration wasn’t able to link specific U.S. weapons to individual attacks by Israeli forces in Gaza could give the US leeway in any future decision on whether to restrict offensive weapons.
The first-of-its-kind assessment, which was compelled by President Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats in Congress, comes after seven months of airstrikes, ground fighting and aid restrictions. While U.S. officials were unable to gather all the information they needed on specific strikes, the report said that given Israel’s “significant reliance” on U.S.-made weapons, it was “reasonable to assess” that they had been used by Israel’s security forces in instances “inconsistent” with its obligations under international humanitarian law “or with best practices for mitigating civilian harm.”