The essential

  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Israeli army will provide "safe passage" before the planned assault on the Gaza Strip town of Rafah, in an interview with a US channel to be broadcast on Sunday.

  • The Israeli army and internal security agency said on Saturday they had discovered a Hamas tunnel in Gaza City under the headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

  • The Hamas Ministry of Health announced on Saturday a new death toll of at least 28,064 in the Gaza Strip.

The essentials of the day before

  • At least 28 people were killed in strikes near Rafah, the last refuge for displaced populations in the Gaza Strip, according to a public health official and AP journalists.

  • After the city of Gaza, then Khan Younes, Israel is now planning a ground operation in this city adjoining Egypt, in the far south of the Gaza Strip. Hamas warned that such an offensive could cause "tens of thousands of deaths and injuries."

  • The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell warned of a possible offensive by the Israeli army in Rafah, which would amount to “an indescribable humanitarian catastrophe”.

  • Israeli strikes targeted the area around the Syrian capital Damascus, killing at least three people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) said.

  • The head of Iranian diplomacy Hossein Amir-Abdollahian affirmed in Beirut that a large-scale Israeli offensive against Lebanon “would mark the end” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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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