Feb 11, 2024. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
Israeli air strikes over the past four days in Gaza have killed two hostages and seriously injured eight others, the armed wing of Hamas announced Sunday on its Telegram channel.
The news came as Binyamin Netanyahu said that the Israeli military will provide "safe passage for the civilian population" ahead of an expected assault on the overcrowded southern Gaza city of Rafah.
US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in a phone call on Sunday that Israel should not
proceed with a ground operation in Rafah without a “credible and executable”
plan for “ensuring the safety” of the more than 1 million people sheltering
there, the White House said.
In an interview that aired Sunday, Netanyahu
reiterated his intention to extend Israel's military operation against Hamas
into Rafah, but promised "safe passage" to civilians displaced there
– without giving any details.
Israeli strikes on the Gaza strip over the past
96 hours have killed two Israeli hostages and seriously injured eight others,
Hamas' armed-wing Al Qassam Brigades said on Sunday over the group's Telegram
channel.
The Israeli military says it has discovered
tunnels underneath the main headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian
refugees in Gaza City, alleging that Hamas militants used the space as an
electrical supply room.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini
said the agency had no knowledge of the facility's underground, but the
findings merit an “independent inquiry", which the agency is unable to
perform due to the ongoing war.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 28,176 people have been killed and 67,784 wounded in Israeli strikes on the enclave since October 7, the vast majority women and children.
Israeli
officials say about 1,140 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks
in southern Israel. Militant fighters took some 250 hostages during the attack
and 132 are still in Gaza, according to Israeli figures.
France
24