Israel on Tuesday ordered new evacuations in Gaza City as it prepares for a controversial ground offensive in Rafah, the enclave’s southernmost town.
The news is a reminder that roughly 300,000 Palestinians are still estimated to be in northern Gaza despite evacuations that pushed waves of people south after Oct. 7. It’s also indicative of the myriad challenges Palestinians face amid the Israel-Hamas war. It’s estimated that up to 1.9 million people in Gaza have been displaced since fighting began, and around 1.5 million are sheltering in Rafah.
Israel issued a March 10 deadline for Hamas to return the hostages or face a ground offensive in Rafah, but it hasn’t offered a plan for ensuring civilian safety. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested they could evacuate north, the direction many fled from. Though Cairo opposes accepting refugees, it’s bracing for the possibility that Israel’s operation could push thousands of Palestinians across its border.
Meanwhile, the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. Washington is pushing for a separate resolution that calls for a cease-fire “as soon as practicable” and urges Israel to scrap its plan to invade Rafah.
Why is a man wearing a trash can on his head polling nearly as high as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage? Rory Stewart explains.
Think you know what's going on around the world? Here's your chance to prove it.
For weeks, tens of thousands of people in India – most of them young people – protested outside the Jantar Mantar, a historic observatory in New Delhi, to demand the resignation of the country’s education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan. Five days later, they got what they asked for.
Egypt said two ships were hit with a drone in the port of Damietta on Wednesday, just 40 miles from the exit of the Suez Canal, the first attack in the country since the war began.