In the besieged Gaza Strip, intense fighting erupted between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in the southern city of Rafah, prompting concerns over a broader regional conflict. Amidst the ongoing clashes, the Israeli Defense Minister visited Washington for crisis talks, as the United States cautioned against the potential risks of a wider war involving Hezbollah in Lebanon.In the besieged Gaza Strip, intense fighting erupted between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in the southern city of Rafah, prompting concerns over a broader regional conflict. Amidst the ongoing clashes, the Israeli Defense Minister visited Washington for crisis talks, as the United States cautioned against the potential risks of a wider war involving Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, have expressed openness to a diplomatic resolution, though they强调 the need for readiness. Meanwhile, Israel has approved plans for a potential offensive in Lebanon, drawing threats from Hezbollah. The international community has urged restraint, with German and Canadian officials warning of the grave consequences of miscalculations. On the ground in Rafah, witnesses reported overnight clashes and Israeli airstrikes targeting rocket launch sites. United Nations agencies have raised alarm over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, with children losing limbs and widespread hunger.
Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories – Fighting raged between Israeli forces and a Palestinian group in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Wednesday, witnesses said, as fears grow of a wider regional war drawing in Lebanese Hezbollah.
However, Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip appeared to ease days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested the “intense phase” of the war was nearing an end and as his defense minister visited Washington for crisis talks. As the war in Gaza approaches its tenth month, Israel’s main ally the United States warned the country of the risk of a major conflict against Hezbollah in Lebanon following an escalation of cross-border fire. “A new war between Israel and Hezbollah could easily become a regional war, with dire consequences for the Middle East,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his visiting Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant. “Diplomacy is by far the best way to prevent further escalation,” Austin said.
Top Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, have suggested they were open to a diplomatic resolution to the border tensions, although Gallant said Israel must be ready for “any possible scenario.”
The Israeli military said last week that plans for an offensive in Lebanon had been “approved and validated,” prompting new threats from Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. On Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned in Beirut that any “miscalculation” could trigger all-out war and urged “extreme restraint.” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly has meanwhile ordered her country’s citizens in Lebanon to leave protectively “as long as they can.”
On the ground in Rafah, on Gaza’s border with Egypt, witnesses reported clashes overnight, and the Israeli military said its air force struck a rocket launch site. UN agencies say 10 Gazan children a day are losing one or both legs and half a million Palestinians in the besieged area are suffering “catastrophic” hunger.
