The Israeli military posted a video of militants operating on a UNRWA site east of Rafah, but the time and identities of the men seen have not been disclosed. Israel has had its share of clashes with the UN, as the latter strongly opposes the war in Gaza and has repeatedly called for a ceasefire.
Colonel Waibhav Anil Kale, who took premature retirement from the Indian Army in 2022, died after the UN-marked vehicle he was travelling in was struck on the way to war-torn Rafah. The UN believed that shots fired from an Israeli tank may have resulted in Col Kale's death.
This would be the first arms transfer for Israel by the US after the Biden administration paused a shipment of 3,500 bombs to its close ally earlier this month. Democrats have urged Biden to limit weapons supply to Israel, while Republicans have criticised lessening of military support.
Col Kale took premature retirement from the Indian Army in 2022. He joined the UN as a Security Coordination Officer in the UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS) around two months ago.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to welcome his Russian counterpart President Vladimir Putin in Beijing this week. This will be Putin's first foreign trip since he was sworn in as president and began his fifth term in office.
Reflecting the Biden administration's strongest criticism, Blinken said Israel's plan has failed to eliminate Hamas militants and risks creating an insurgency by the militant group. Israel's devastating military operation has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, as per the health officials in Gaza.
Israel plans to step up operations in Rafah, believing it to be Hamas' last stronghold, despite mounting international concerns over a surge of civilian deaths. About 110,000 people have fled Rafah as all crossings have been closed, causing food and fuel supplies to reach a critical low.
The Biden administration said Israel's use of US-supplied weapons may have violated international law, but specific instances could not be confirmed due to wartime conditions. There has been widespread concerns over Israel's indiscriminate use of weapons for causing "excessive" civilian harm.
The Israeli military's remarks came as Joe Biden threatened not to supply offensive weapons to Israel for their use in an all-out assault on Rafah, the last major Hamas stronghold in Gaza.
Biden's remarks mark the strong public warning of Israel as the US seeks to deter an Israeli assault on Rafah that has led to a rift between the two close allies. This came after the US paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns of an invasion in the southern Gaza city.
The United States has halted a shipment of powerful bombs to Israel, a US official said, as Washington puts pressure on its ally to avoid a full-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip's crowded southern city of Rafah and give more time for ceasefire talks.
Palestinian Islamist group Hamas said that it had agreed to a three-phased deal for a ceasefire and hostages-for-prisoners swap, although an Israeli official said the deal was not acceptable to Israel because terms had been "softened". But how will this 3-day truce work?
The Israel military announced late Monday that it carried out "targeted strikes" in Rafah, despite intense international alarm, which killed 20 Hamas militants. Hours after the evacuation of Rafah was announced, Hamas approved a ceasefire proposed by Egypt and Qatar.
Israel's attack on Rafah, which has attracted international criticism, has already claimed the lives of five Palestinians. Meanwhile, Hamas has accepted a ceasefire proposal by Egypt and Qatar that has increased the chances of a brief pause in the seven-month-long war.
Israel’s closest allies, including the United States, have repeatedly said that Israel shouldn’t attack Rafah. The looming operation has raised global alarm over the fate of around 1.4 million Palestinians sheltering there.
Columbia University is cancelling its large university-wide commencement ceremony amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests but will hold smaller school-based ceremonies this week and next, the university announced Monday.
Some Palestinian families were leaving areas east of Rafah on Monday after receiving evacuation orders from the Israeli military, witnesses in the city on the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt confirmed.
Hamas had claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on the Kerem Shalom border crossing in which three Israeli soldiers were killed. The Jewish country launched a counter-attack on Rafah.
While Hamas negotiators had arrived in Cairo on Saturday for intensified talks on a possible ceasefire in Gaza, the Israeli government abstained from the talks leading to failure of the initiative.
The statement from Netanyahu’s office said that under a law passed last month, the government can take action against a foreign channel seen as “harming the country.”
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