Israel-Hamas war live updates: Global alarm grows over Israel's planned assault in Rafah
What we knowIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged “safe passage for the civilian population” of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians are crowded into shelters. A planned Israeli ground assault has spread fear in the southern Gaza city and fueled mounting global alarm. Netanyahu told ABC News that an attack on Rafah was key to defeating Hamas, but it’s unclear where people packed into the city and pressed against the Egyptian border might go to find safety.President Joe Biden is sending CIA Director Bill Burns to Egypt on Tuesday to continue talks on a cease-fire deal that would also secure the release of the estimated 136 hostages still being held in Gaza, a senior administration official told NBC News, amid a growing divide between the U.S. and its close ally.Six-year-old Hind Rajab has been found dead, 12 days after she made a desperate plea for help in a call with an emergency dispatcher from the car where she was trapped alongside some of her relatives, all of whom died, amid fighting around Gaza City. “This is the most difficult feeling,” her mother told an NBC News crew in Gaza on Saturday.More than 28,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 67,700 have been injured, and thousands more are missing and presumed dead.Israeli military officials said at least 224 soldiers have been killed during the ground invasion of Gaza.NBC News’ Raf Sanchez, Matt Bradley and Chantal Da Silva are reporting from the region.
