The essentials of the day before

  • Israel promised Wednesday to carry out a "powerful" operation in Rafah, despite growing international pressure to try to avoid a potentially devastating offensive in this overpopulated town in the south of the Gaza Strip.

  • Israel carried out air raids on neighboring Lebanon on Wednesday which left at least nine dead according to Lebanese sources, after a rocket attack in which an Israeli soldier was killed, a "dangerous escalation" according to the UN which fears a conflagration regional.

  • The Israeli delegation responsible for negotiations on a possible truce with Hamas in Gaza has returned to Israel. The discussions took place between CIA Director William Burns, Mossad Chief David Barnea, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdelrahmane Al-Thani and Egyptian officials.

  • An official from the Hamas political bureau will lead a delegation to Cairo to meet the heads of the Egyptian and Qatari intelligence services.

  • The head of the FBI made a surprise trip to Israel on Wednesday, where he met members of law enforcement and intelligence.

  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he is ready to cooperate with Egypt to help rebuild Gaza.

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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