The essentials of the day before

  • The Israeli Prime Minister on Wednesday ordered the army to "prepare" the offensive on Rafah. He rejected any concessions in negotiations for a truce in the Gaza Strip.

  • UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Wednesday of the "incalculable regional consequences" of a possible Israeli ground assault in Rafah.

  • The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, estimated Wednesday in Tel Aviv that there remained "room for an agreement" on the hostages between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

  • France paid national tribute to the 42 French people killed during the attack carried out by Hamas in Israel on October 7, with French President Emmanuel Macron denouncing "the greatest anti-Semitic massacre of our century".

  • Hamas offered a hostage exchange for the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, according to a draft of the document obtained by Reuters.

Please note: the number of victims is provided by the Hamas-led Gaza Ministry of Health.

The ministry collects information provided by hospitals in the enclave and by the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The Health Ministry in Gaza does not indicate how the Palestinians were killed, whether by Israeli airstrikes and/or barrages or failed Palestinian rocket attacks. It describes all victims as victims of "Israeli aggression" and also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

During the four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, United Nations agencies regularly cited Health Ministry figures in their reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Palestinian Red Crescent also use these figures.

In the aftermath of previous episodes of war, the United Nations Humanitarian Office published casualty figures based on its own research into medical records. The UN figures largely agree with those of the Gaza Ministry of Health, with a few differences.

To learn more about the reports from the Gaza Ministry of Health, click here or here.

France 24 with AP

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