- Israel has continued its lethal air strikes on Gaza, claiming to have ringed Gaza City.
- In the course of overnight Israeli operations throughout the occupied West Bank, at least nine Palestinians were slain, four of them in Jenin.
- Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, is scheduled to deliver his first statement in public since the war began, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is en route to Israel for his third trip in as many weeks.
- The Republican-led US House of Representatives has advanced legislation that would provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel in exchange for domestic expenditure cuts.
- Since October 7, at least 9,061 Palestinians have died as a result of the Israel-Hamas war. In Israel, there have been over 1,400 fatalities.
Civilians trying to leave Gaza City blocked off, targeted by Israeli forces
The main road, Salah al-Din, is fully blocked; neither people nor cars may travel on it. The seaside route known as Al-Rashid road is under heavy air and naval bombardment in addition to being closed by [Israeli] tanks.
As the situation worsened yesterday, we saw images and videos of citizens and cars being attacked while attempting to flee Gaza City. Numerous UN-designated cars with a flag on top, as well as ambulances and civilian cars, were targeted.
There is growing anxiety and alarm. There are a lot of people who suffering from the Gaza war so it is not certain that they will escape safely. According to our source, the Red Cross is making great efforts to organize the evacuation of Palestinians, but they have not received an assurance from the Israeli army that it will be safe for Gaza inhabitants to depart to the south.
