The essentials of the day before

  • Discussions between the American and Israeli intelligence directors, the Qatari Prime Minister and Egyptian leaders in Cairo to "work towards a truce in the Gaza Strip" were "positive", reported television close to Egyptian intelligence.

  • Pretoria announced that it had filed a new appeal with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague so that it urgently examines Israel's announcement of an upcoming military offensive on Rafah and opposes if necessary "a new violation of rights. 

  • Pro-Iranian Hezbollah will only stop its attacks on Israel with a ceasefire in Gaza, its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said, accusing foreign mediators seeking to ease tensions in southern Lebanon of serving the interests of Israel.

Also read: When Unicef ​​tries to locate and help orphans in Gaza

  • China called on Israel to stop its military operation in Rafah “as quickly as possible,” in order to “prevent an even more serious humanitarian catastrophe.”

  • The Israeli offensive has left 28,473 dead in the Gaza Strip, the vast majority of them civilians, according to the latest report published by the Hamas government's Ministry of Health.

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 Gaza Health Ministry 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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