Leaders internationally have urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be cautious
\nUS Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said any US response to incursion would be up to President Biden
\nGAZA: The United Nations humanitarian aid agency says hundreds of thousands of people would be \u201cat imminent risk of death\u201d if Israel carries out a military assault in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.<\/p>\n
The city has become critical for humanitarian aid and is highly concentrated with displaced Palestinians.<\/p>\n
Leaders internationally have urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be cautious about any incursion into Rafah, where seven people \u2014 mostly children \u2014 were killed overnight in an Israeli airstrike.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said any US response to such an incursion would be up to President Joe Biden, but that currently, \u201cconditions are not favorable to any kind of operation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turkiye\u2019s trade minister said Friday that its new trade ban on Israel was in response to \u201cthe deterioration and aggravation of the situation in Rafah.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Israel-Hamas war has driven around 80 percent of Gaza\u2019s population of 2.3 million from their homes, caused vast destruction in several towns and cities, and pushed northern Gaza to the brink of famine.<\/p>\n
The death toll in Gaza has soared to more than 34,500 people, according to local health officials, and the territory\u2019s entire population has been driven into a humanitarian catastrophe.<\/p>\n
The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, abducting about 250 people and killing around 1,200, mostly civilians. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.<\/p>\n
Dozens of people demonstrated Thursday night outside Israel\u2019s military headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding a deal to release the hostages. Meanwhile, Hamas said it would send a delegation to Cairo as soon as possible to keep working on ceasefire talks. A leaked truce proposal hints at compromises by both sides after months of talks languishing in a stalemate.<\/p>\n
Across the US, tent encampments and demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war have spread across university campuses.<\/p>\n
More than 2,000 protesters have been arrested over the past two weeks as students rally against the war\u2019s death toll and call for universities to separate themselves from any companies that are advancing Israel\u2019s military efforts in Gaza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Leaders internationally have urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be cautious US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said any US response to incursion would be up to President Biden GAZA: The United Nations humanitarian aid agency says hundreds of thousands of people would be \u201cat imminent risk of death\u201d if Israel carries out a military […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":404639,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-404624","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n