What happened on Day 221?
Hamas uses UN facilities for cover • US denies it withheld information about Hamas leaders' whereabouts • IDF kills Hamas terrorists in UNRWA school
Nothing wrong with Gaza death toll figures, WHO says
This sparked allegations from Israel of inaccuracy since Palestinian authorities had previously estimated that more than 70% of those killed were women and children.
The World Health Organization voiced full confidence in the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry death toll figures on Tuesday, saying they were actually getting closer to confirming the scale of losses after Israel questioned a change in the numbers.
Gaza's health ministry last week updated its breakdown of the total fatalities of around 35,000 since October 7, saying that about 25,000 of those have so far been fully identified, of whom more than half were women and children.
This sparked allegations from Israel of inaccuracy since Palestinian authorities had previously estimated that more than 70% of those killed were women and children. UN agencies have republished the Palestinian figures, which have since risen above 35,000 dead, citing the source.
"Nothing wrong with the data"
"Nothing wrong with the data, the overall data (more than 35,000) are still the same," said WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier at a Geneva press briefing in response to questions about the toll. "The fact we now have 25,000 identified people is a step forward," he added.
Go to the full article >>Talks over Gaza ceasefire at stalemate after Rafah operation, Qatar PM says
Talks over a ceasefire in Gaza have reached a stalemate as Israel's operation in Rafah has sent things backwards, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Tuesday at an economic forum in Doha.
Go to the full article >>Red Cross sets up Rafah emergency field hospital
Staff at the new facility will be able to treat around 200 people a day and can provide emergency surgical care and manage mass casualties as well as provide pediatric and other services.
The International Red Cross and partners are opening a field hospital in southern Gaza on Tuesday to try to meet what it described as "overwhelming" demand for health services since Israel's military operation on Rafah began last week.
Some health clinics have suspended activities while patients and medics have fled from a major hospital as Israel has stepped up bombardments in the southern sliver of Gaza where hundreds of thousands of uprooted people are crowded together.
Go to the full article >>Israeli tanks push into built-up areas in eastern Rafah, residents say
Israeli tanks pushed deeper into eastern Rafah on Tuesday morning, entering the neighborhoods of Al-Jneina, Al-Salam and Al-Brazil, residents said.
"The tanks advanced this morning west of Salahuddin road into the Brzail and Jneina neighborhoods. They are in the streets inside the built-up area and there are clashes," one resident told Reuters via a chat app.
Video on social media showed one tank on George Street in Al-Jneina neighborhood. Reuters could not verify the video.
Go to the full article >>Egypt considers pulling ambassador to Tel Aviv - WSJ
Egyptian officials said that they are considering pulling the Egyptian ambassador to Israel back to Cairo, signaling a downgrade in diplomatic relations as a result of the Israel-Hamas war, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
This is a developing story.
Go to the full article >>Iranian-backed group in Iraq takes responsibility for UAVs launched at Eilat - report
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a terror organization comprised of pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for launching two UAVs to what they claimed to be a "military target in Eilat," according to a Tuesday Ynet report.
This is a developing story.
Go to the full article >>‘There is so much suffering on both sides’, says mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin
Mother of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg Polin urged the US for further involvement in hostage negotiations. She also spoke about the suffering on both sides of the conflict.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the mother of the hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, urged the US to show a more active involvement in the hostage negotiations in a Fox News interview on Sunday.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the mother of the hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, has become one of the most recognizable faces in the United States amidst the hostage crisis.
Her son Hersh, 23, was born in California and moved to Israel, where he was kidnapped from a Nova Music Festival.
On Sunday she interviewed at the American Fox News network, calling on the United States to show more active involvement in negotiations.
Go to the full article >>Biden administration denies holding intel on Hamas leaders' locations
The United States has denied withholding information to leverage against Israel and force it to cancel operations in Rafah.
While the White House recently leveraged intelligence information in hopes of stalling an IDF operation in Rafah, it has now begun denying withholding information from its ally, the New York Post reported on Monday.
The initial report that the US attempted to leverage information came from four anonymous sources speaking to the Washington Post.
According to the Post, the information offered by the US includes details regarding the whereabouts of Hamas leaders and the terror group's tunnels.
Go to the full article >>Israel secretly asked Palestinian Authority run Rafah crossing undercover- report
Four officials from the PA, Israel and the United States told Axios that Israel made the request as Egypt threatened to disallow the transport of aid unless Israel withdrew from Rafah
Israel unofficially asked that the Palestinian Authority run the Rafah crossing in Gaza, four senior officials from Israel, the United States and the Palestinian Authority told Axios in a report published on Monday night.
The proposal, if true, would be the first invitation Israel has extended to the Palestinian Authority to join or facilitate issues relating to the war, according to Axios.
Egypt has reportedly halted sending aid through the Kerem Shalom crossing and has promised to continue delaying aid until Israeli forces withdraw from the Palestinian side of Rafah. Given the repeated warning from the United Nations and other international bodies, the threat of withheld aid could place even more pressure on the precarious humanitarian situation in the enclave.
Go to the full article >>IDF successfully intercepts UAV, no damage or wounded reported
IDF jets successfully intercepted an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) en route to Israel, the IDF reported on Monday.
According to the report, the UAV heading to Israel from the east and was tracked by the IDF.
Go to the full article >>Israel-Hamas war: What you need to know
- Hamas launched a massive attack on October 7, with thousands of terrorists infiltrating from the Gaza border and taking some 240 hostages into Gaza.
- Over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered, including over 350 in the Re'im music festival and hundreds of Israeli civilians across Gaza border communities
- 131 hostages remain in Gaza
- 38 hostages in total have been killed in captivity, IDF says