The war between Israel and Hamas, now in its fifth month, has devastated hospitals in the Gaza Strip, with less than half of them only partially functioning as scores of people are killed and wounded in daily bombardments.
Israel accuses the militants of using hospitals and other civilian buildings as cover. Palestinians began evacuating the main hospital in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, according to videos shared by medics on Wednesday.
The Israeli military said it had opened a secure route to allow civilians to leave the hospital, while medics and patients could remain inside.
The war began with Hamas’ assault into Israel on Oct 7, in which militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250.
The overall Palestinian death toll from the war in Gaza has surpassed 28,000 people, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. A quarter of Gaza’s residents are starving.
The United States, which has provided crucial military and diplomatic support to Israel, has been working with Qatar and Egypt to try and broker a cease-fire and the return of the remaining 130 hostages held by Hamas, around a fourth of whom are believed to be dead.
The negotiators held talks in Cairo on Tuesday that were attended by CIA chief William Burns and David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, but there were no signs of a breakthrough.
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Four people were killed in Lebanon, including a Syrian woman and her two Lebanese children in the village of Souaneh, and at least nine were wounded, Lebanese security officials and local media said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV reported that another airstrike on the village of Adchit killed one person and wounded nine. It was not immediately clear if the dead person was a civilian or a Hezbollah fighter.
Earlier Wednesday, a projectile hit a home in Israel’s northern town of Safed, wounding at least eight people. Israeli media reported that a woman was killed in that attack, but the military did not immediately confirm the reports. Hezbollah did not claim the attack on Safed.
Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, which supports Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers, have traded fire along the border nearly every day since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct 7.
The letter, signed by Ireland’s premier, Leo Varadkar, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Snchez, said that if the Commission deems Israel is in breach of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which makes respect for human rights and democratic principles an essential element of the relationship, it should propose appropriate measures to the European Council to consider.
The letter underlines condemnation of Hamas’ Oct 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s right to defend itself but highlights surging death toll and devastation in Gaza.
It said that Israel must respect international human rights.
The two leaders said they shared the concerns of the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres about the appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma of civilians, and the risks to them given his view that nowhere in Gaza is safe.
The Israeli army said there were approximately 10 launches towards northern Israel on Wednesday and that a nearby military base was targeted.
One of the rockets hit a home in Safed, causing the casualties, while another two were intercepted.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah or Palestinian armed groups in Lebanon, which have also fired rockets into northern Israel.
Last month, Hezbollah said it launched a drone strike at the army’s northern headquarters.
Israel’s military acknowledged at the time that one of its bases was targeted but said there were no injuries or damage.
The increasing cross-border attacks have led to fears of a wider conflict linked to the ongoing war in Gaza.
Hezbollah says that by keeping Israel’s northern front active, it is helping to reduce pressure on Palestinian Hamas in Gaza.
Nearly 200 Hezbollah fighters and more than 20 civilians have been killed on the Lebanese side since Oct 7.
In Israel, 19 people have been killed by rocket attacks from Lebanon, including 10 civilians.
More than 180 Israelis have been wounded, including a woman and her son who were critically wounded on Tuesday in a rocket attack in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona.
Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes on both sides of the border.
In the video, a man identified as Sinwar is seen from the back, with his wife and three children walking ahead of him.
He is wearing sandals and carrying a bag.
His daughter clutches a doll as the family, led by what the army claims is Sinwar’s brother, makes their way through the tunnels.
The face of the man identified as Sinwar is not visible and the claims could not be independently verified.
The army also released video of a tunnel compound where it claimed Sinwar was recently hiding with his family.
The compound had a bathroom and kitchen with stockpiles of food, including bags marked with logos of the UN agency that delivers most aid to people in Gaza.
Israel has long accused UNRWA of tolerating or collaborating with Hamas a charge the agency denies.
Another room had a safe with plastic storage bags filled with shekels and dollars.
The army did not provide information to support its claim that Sinwar had spent time in that tunnel compound.
Sinwar is Hamas’ top leader inside the Palestinian territory. Israeli officials have vowed to kill him and crush the militant group that has ruled Gaza since 2007.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said Tuesday evening that the army was combing through intelligence files seized during operations in the tunnels.
He said the army had multiple videos of Sinwar.
Martin Griffiths said Tuesday more than lf of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have fled to Rafah seeking safety from Israeli attacks and are staring death in the face, with little to eat, hardly any access to medical care, nowhere to sleep, nowhere safe to go.
Gaza’s residents, he said, are the victim of an Israeli assault that is unparalleled in its intensity, brutality and scope.
Griffiths reiterated UN demands for an end to the war that Israel launched after Hamas’ surprise attacks in southern Israel on Oct 7.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked his military to prepare plans to evacuate Rafah so it can pursue Hamas fighters in the city.
The Hamas attacks in Israel killed about 1,200 people and led to the taking of about 250 hostages.
More than 28,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed across Gaza in the Israeli offensive, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, he said.
Griffiths said in a statement that he has been warning for weeks that the UN humanitarian response is in tatters and now he is sounding the alarm again. Military operations in Rafah could lead to a slaughter in Gaza, he said.
They could also leave an already fragile humanitarian operation at death’s door.
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