The Israeli military is reportedly planning to move 1.4 million displaced Palestinians in Rafah ahead of large offensive.
ADVERTISEMENTReports have emerged saying six people were killed and at least 83 wounded after Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians waiting for food in Gaza city.
The attack came a few hours after Israeli forces bombed a United Nations food distribution centre in southern Rafah city, killing at least five people including a member for the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said on X that "Since this war began, attacks against UN facilities, convoys and personnel have become commonplace in blatant disregard to international humanitarian law."
Having instructed Gaza residents to evacuate to Rafah for their safety, Israel plans to tell 1.4 million Palestinians currently there to seek shelter in central Gaza ahead of a planned military offensive to the south of the Gaza Strip.
Israel's chief military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said that civilians would be directed to "humanitarian islands" where they would receive temporary housing, food, water and other necessities.
Humanitarian groups and numerous governments, including allies of Israel, have warned a military offensive into the densely crowded area would be a catastrophe.
Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been forced from their homes, with many driven into sprawling tent camps. A quarter of Gaza’s population is starving, the United Nations has warned. Rafah is Gaza’s main entry point for aid.
More than 31,270 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the territory's Health Ministry says. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
Efforts to achieve even a pause in the fighting have so far proven futile. The most recent setback came with the breakdown of talks between Hamas and Israel that were intended to secure a truce ahead of the holy month of Ramadan.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Forces published a video showing a drone strike on a moving vehicle carrying a Hamas official in Lebanon.
The IDF have said that Hamas official Hadi Mustafa was killed in the strike close to the southern Lebanese city of Tyre. One other person was reportedly killed in the strike.
The US and other governments are scrambling to prevent the ongoing war between Israeli and Palestine from spilling over into Lebanon, as Hezbollah militants and the Israeli military trade fire.