Witnesses reported strikes in the vicinity of Rafah, the last refuge of populations displaced by the ongoing conflict since October 7. Israel is now aiming for a ground operation in this city bordering Egypt, in the far south of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli strikes targeted the area around the Syrian capital Damascus, said an NGO and the official Syrian press agency. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas "vehemently" condemned the proposed offensive; In Gaza, nearly one in ten children under the age of five suffers from acute malnutrition.