Israel’s war on Gaza live: New wave of displacement as Israel attacks Rafah

Usman MRK May 09, 2024 0

Tens of thousands of Palestinians attempt to flee Rafah as Israel shells the eastern area of the city sheltering some 1.5 million people.
Israel’s continued closure of the Rafah border crossing is “choking off the entry of life-saving aid into Gaza”, says the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
US President Joe Biden says he will not supply offensive weapons that Israel could use to launch an all-out assault on Rafah in the toughest public comments yet about the widely condemned military operation. “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden said in an interview.

Smoke rises after an Israeli attack in Rafah [Hatem Khaled/Reuters]

At least 34,904 people have been killed and 78,514 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139 with dozens of people still held captive.