Three soldiers have been killed in Rafah, the Israeli military said Wednesday. Israeli media reported that the soldiers were killed when a booby trap exploded Tuesday, and three other soldiers were wounded. The military says at least 290 soldiers have been killed since the ground operation in Gaza began in October.
Israel says it is carrying out limited operations in eastern Rafah along the Gaza-Egypt border. Palestinians in Rafah reported heavy fighting Wednesday as Israeli forces pressed their assault on the border town once seen as the territory’s last refuge. The United States and other allies of Israel have warned against a full-fledged offensive in the city.
Israeli leaders say their forces must enter Rafah to dismantle Hamas and return hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.
Fighting in Rafah has caused more than 1 million Palestinians to flee, most of whom had already been displaced in the war between Israel and Hamas. They now seek refuge in squalid tent camps and other war-ravaged areas, where they lack shelter, food, water and other essentials for survival, the U.N. says.
Israeli bombardments and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250. Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.
Currently:
— Israeli strikes kill at least 37 Palestinians, most in tents, near Gaza’s Rafah.
— Missile attacks damage a ship in the Red Sea off Yemen’s coast, near previous Houthi rebel assaults.
— A U.S.-built pier will be removed from the Gaza coast and repaired after damage from rough seas.
— Algeria proposes a Security Council resolution demanding Israel halt its offensive in Rafah.
— The U.S. says it is not planning any policy changes in response to civilian deaths from an Israeli strike.
Follow news agencies’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here’s the latest:
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, calling him a psychopath and a “vampire that feeds on blood” following Israeli airstrikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah that triggered a deadly fire in a camp for displaced people.
In a speech to legislators from his ruling party, Erdogan held the United States and European nations responsible for the deaths while also criticizing the Islamic Cooperation Organization for failing to take joint action against Israel.
