Israeli tanks advanced to the edge of a crowded district in the heart of Rafah. On Gaza's northern edge in Jabalia, Israeli forces pressed on with a ground offensive that has carried on in parallel with the Rafah assault for two weeks. Health officials and residents say entire residential districts have been destroyed and dozens of people killed in the operation.
Israeli tanks advanced to the edge of a crowded district in the heart of Rafah on Wednesday
during one of the most intense nights of bombardment of the southern Gaza city since Israel launched its offensive there this month.
Israel's assault on Rafah on Gaza's southern edge has set hundreds of thousands of people fleeing in what had been a refuge for half of the enclave's 2.3 million people. It has also cut off the main access routes for aid into Gaza, drawing international fears of mass casualties and famine.
On Gaza's northern edge in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza's eight historical refugee camps, Israeli forces pressed on with a ground offensive that has carried on in parallel with the Rafah assault for two weeks.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant in a call on Wednesday of the need for an effective mechanism to coordinate humanitarian and military operations in Gaza, the Pentagon said.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)
