The international community, including the United States, is trying by all means on Friday, February 16 to dissuade Israel from launching a large-scale offensive in Rafah, where nearly a million and a half Palestinians are refugees in the south of the Gaza Strip. While Benjamin Netanyahu announced a “powerful action” against this city located on the border with Egypt, Joe Biden told the Israeli Prime Minister his opposition to a military operation in Rafah “without a credible and feasible plan ensuring the safety of civilians in Rafah”according to the White House. Follow our live stream.
The Israeli offensive continues. The Hamas government’s Ministry of Health reported an assessment of “112 dead” on the night of Thursday to Friday across the Gaza Strip, while Israel’s offensive left nearly 29,000 dead according to the Palestinian Islamist movement. No other source allows us to verify this assessment.
Hezbollah says it has fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel. This attack on Thursday comes the day after Israeli raids which left 15 dead, including a Hezbollah military official, in southern Lebanon.
A new truce still under discussion. Negotiations for a truce including new releases of Hamas hostages and Palestinians held by Israel continue in Cairo until Friday, under the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the United States.