Satellite photos appear to show the construction of a new tent compound near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, as the Israeli offensive on the city of Rafah looms.
Khan Younis has been the target of repeated Israeli military operations over recent weeks leaving the area devastated. Israel said it plans to evacuate civilians from Rafah during an anticipated offensive on the southern city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of people have taken refuge during the war, which is now in its seventh month. The military has denied any involvement in the tent construction.
A failed rocket strike was launched at a base housing US-led coalition forces at Rumalyn, Syria on Monday, which, according to a US defence official, marks the first time since 4 February that Iranian-backed militias have attacked a US facility in Iraq or Syria. No personnel were injured in the attack, and no group has claimed responsibility.
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Satellite photos analysed by The Associated Press appear to show a new compound of tents being built near Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip as the Israeli military continues to signal it plans an offensive targeting the city of Rafah.
Images from Planet Labs PBC analysed by the AP show the tent compound starting to be fully under construction on April 16 just west of Khan Younis. Images taken Sunday show the tent compound in the time since has grown.
The Israeli military said Tuesday that it was not involved in the tent construction near Khan Younis. The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz, without attributing the information, said that Egypt was constructing the tent compound ahead of a possible Rafah offensive.
The Israeli military failed to respond to a request for comment on Tuesday about the tents, however the construction comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened "additional painful blows" targeting Hamas over the breakdown of talks over trying to free the remaining hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
That could include the long-threatened attack on Rafah, where half of the Gaza Strip's 2.3 million people have fled amid the war. The US. Israel's main ally, has repeatedly said any military operation needs to protect civilians.
Netanyahu has said he would order to military to evacuate civilians from Rafah for the offensive, but it is not clear where they could go.
The conflict has sparked regional unrest pitting Israel and the US against Iran and allied militant groups across the Middle East. Israel and Iran traded fire directly this month, raising fears of all-out war.
The war, sparked by the unprecedented 7 October raid into southern Israel, saw Hamas and other militants kill around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, Around 250 hostages were abducted. Israel says militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.
According to local health officials, the Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, around two-thirds of them children and women. It has devastated Gaza's two largest cities and left devastation and destruction. Around 80 per cent of the territory's population have fled to other parts of the besieged coastal enclave.
The US House of Representatives approved a $26 billion aid package on Saturday that includes around $9 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza, which experts say is on the brink of famine, as well as billions for Israel. The US Senate could pass the package as soon as Tuesday, and President Joe Biden has promised to sign it immediately.
The Gaza Health Ministry said Tuesday the bodies of 32 people killed by Israeli strikes have been brought to local hospitals over the past 24 hours. Hospitals also received 59 wounded, it said in its daily report.
That brings the overall Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war to at least 34,183, the ministry said. Another 77,143 have been injured, it said.
The Health Ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its tallies, but has said that women and children make up around two-thirds of those killed.
The Israeli military says it has killed 13,000 militants, without providing evidence to back up the claim.