Overview | Mass graves found in Khan Younis, more airstrikes on Gaza | War Israel and Hamas

The Israeli army has reportedly completed preparations for an invasion of Rafah, an anonymous defense officer told the news agency Reuters. According to the officer, the ground offensive can begin if the Israeli government gives permission.

The Israeli government has been hinting at a ground offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza, for several weeks. Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a date had already been set, but so far the army has not yet invaded Rafah.

Israel sees Rafah as Hamas’s last stronghold. A major raid on the city is sensitive, because many Palestinian refugees have fled to Rafah. Several countries have regularly expressed concerns about the humanitarian consequences of an invasion of Rafah.

Gazan authorities say they have found three mass graves on the grounds of the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Sunday. It is currently unclear who buried the bodies there. More than three hundred bodies are said to have been found in the graves.

According to Hamas, these are people who were killed by Israeli soldiers. A Palestinian source of CNN says the graves contain Gaza residents. They are said to have died on the hospital grounds. They would then have been buried there as a temporary solution.

Israel denies opposite CNN to be responsible for the mass graves. The Israeli military says it has examined remains in the area surrounding the hospital as part of its search for hostages. When it turned out that there were no hostages among the dead, the bodies were reburied in the same place.

According to the BBC Several Gazans are now searching for their deceased relatives at the graves around the hospital. Sometimes they have been missing for several months. Bulldozers dig through the grounds looking for their bodies.

Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, is “shocked” by reports of possible mass graves. He calls for an independent investigation into the bodies and graves. The United States calls the discovery of mass graves “very worrying” and has asked Israel for an explanation. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said this earlier on Wednesday.

Israel intensified its airstrikes on Gaza on Tuesday and Wednesday. In Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, hundreds of families left their homes this week due to the ongoing airstrikes.

Israel had called on residents of the city to evacuate on Tuesday, saying they were in a “dangerous combat zone”.

The new attacks come almost four months after Israel announced it would remove troops from northern Gaza. Israel decided to do this because Hamas would no longer have control over Northern Gaza.

Ontvang regelmatig een overzicht van de ontwikkelingen in Gaza en Israël Stay informed with notifications

The German government has resumed financial support to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). Several countries, including the Netherlands, stopped aiding UNRWA after Israel accused the organization of supporting Hamas.

After the publication of a report showing that there is no evidence to support the Israeli accusations, several countries have resumed aid, including Germany.

The outgoing cabinet will make a decision during the Council of Ministers on Friday about resuming support for UNRWA. That decision then concerns the contribution for 2025, because the contribution for this year had already been paid in full.

The number of mutual shellings between Israel and Hezbollah has increased again in recent days. The Israeli army says it has attacked 40 Hezbollah militia targets in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has fired dozens of rockets from Lebanon towards Israeli villages just across the border.

Israel claimed to have killed two Hezbollah members with rocket attacks on Tuesday. Hezbollah has confirmed the death of one of their own. Two civilians were also killed in Lebanon on Wednesday.

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