UN says 80,000 have fled Rafah as strikes intensify
Israel’s military has said its ground forces are conducting “targeted activity” in eastern Rafah.
The UN also warned that food and fuel were running out because it was not receiving aid through nearby crossings.
Israeli troops took control and closed the Rafah crossing with Egypt at the start of their operation, while the UN said it was too dangerous for its staff and lorries to reach the reopened Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.
It came a day after the US warned that it would stop supplying Israel with some weapons if it launched a major assault on “population centres” in Rafah.
After seven months of war in Gaza, Israel has insisted victory is impossible without taking the city and eliminating the last remaining Hamas battalions.
But with more than a million displaced Palestinians sheltering there, the UN and Western powers have warned that an all-out assault could lead to mass civilian casualties and a humanitarian catastrophe.
