Israeli military reports fighting near Gaza City hospital

The Israeli military on Thursday reported fighting in the Shifa hospital area of ​​Gaza City and in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

The health ministry in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip said on Thursday that 62 Palestinians had been killed the previous day.

After Hamas launched attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people, Israel launched a counteroffensive in October that killed at least 32,552 people, the Israeli Defense Ministry said.

In a U-turn on Wednesday, Israel agreed to send its war strategists to Washington to discuss its intentions for a ground attack on Hamas militants in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

On Monday, Israel canceled the visit to protest the U.S. refusal to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas.

The United States, Israel’s staunchest ally in the nearly six-month war, abstained from this week’s U.N. vote after earlier vetoing a similar resolution. That drew a condemnation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, signaling a growing divide between Israel and Washington over the conduct of the war.

But even as Netanyahu canceled a visit by a group of war strategists, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was still in Washington this week for talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Netanyahu said Rafah’s attack was necessary to eliminate Hamas’ control of Gaza, a narrow enclave on the Mediterranean coast. But the United States has told Israel it opposes the Rafah incursion, especially since more than a million Palestinian civilians are holed up in makeshift tents and buildings.

Israel said it would move Palestinians to safety before attacking four Hamas camps in Rafah, but did not say where they would be sent.

While Netanyahu insisted that the US abstention was “very, very bad”, he told visiting US Republican Senator Rick Scott that his initial cancellation of the Israeli delegation “was first and foremost a message to Hamas.” Message: Don’t bet on this” [United Nations] pressure [for a cease-fire]. this will not work. “

Netanyahu said the Security Council vote “encourages Hamas to take a tough stance and believes international pressure will prevent Israel” from achieving its war goals. Israel has vowed to continue fighting until Hamas forces are destroyed and the roughly 100 hostages it holds are released.

The White House said more talks with Israeli officials would be “a good thing” and that specific dates were being discussed.

The war began when Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. In November, more than 100 people were released during a week-long ceasefire.

The Gaza Health Ministry’s death toll included Hamas militants and civilians, with the health ministry saying two-thirds of the dead were women and children. In addition to the victims, nearly 75,000 people were injured, the health ministry said.

This report contains information from The Associated Press, Reuters and AFP.