The US will impose travel bans on extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank, Antony Blinken has confirmed. It comes after the US and the United Nations urged Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Welcome back to our live coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Israel stepped up its offensive in southern Gaza early yesterday as it pushed into Khan Younis, the region’s second-largest city, leaving scores of Palestinians dead and wounded.
The local Nasser hospital was overwhelmed with the injured and their families, with bleeding patients being treated on every inch of the floor.
The UN’s aid chief issued a stark warning, saying the military campaign in the south means humanitarian workers will not be able to continue operating.
US President Joe Biden also condemned “appalling” accounts of Hamas militants raping women and mutilating their bodies during their 7 October attacks in southern Israel.
Here are some more key events from the past 24 hours:
- The IDF said its soldiers were “in the heart of” Khan Younis after the most “intense” day of its ground operations so far;
- In a rare punitive move against Israel, the US imposed a visa ban on Jewish settlers involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. It came after the US warned Israel it would take action over recent attacks in the region;
- Hamas said the number of people killed by Israeli forces in Gaza had risen to at least 16,200 since 7 October;
- In a news briefing from Tel Aviv, Benjamin Netanyahu condemned what he saw as a lack of outcry from the international community over reported sexual violence by Hamas militants during the raids in southern Israel;
- His comments came after a meeting with families of returned Hamas hostages, which was reportedly “turbulent” and left many relatives feeling angry over an apparent lack of plan for the release of the 138 remaining captives.
