Israel said Wednesday it has reopened the Kerem Shalom border crossing, a key entry point for humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip that was closed over the weekend after a deadly Hamas rocket attack. However, a spokeswoman for UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said that as of Wednesday afternoon, it had not yet seen any fuel or aid enter. The Biden administration paused the shipment of thousands of bombs to Israel amid U.S. concerns about a long-planned Israeli ground operation in Rafah — the first known delay in U.S. arms transfers to Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
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CIA Director William J. Burns was in Israel on Wednesday and meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said an Israeli official speaking on the condition of anonymity due to government policy.
Talks on a cease-fire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas will resume Wednesday in Cairo, state-run Egyptian media reported. The United States believes that negotiations “should be able to close the remaining gaps” between Israel and Hamas, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
According to UNRWA estimates, some 50,000 people have fled their homes or shelters in the Rafah area since Israel on Monday ordered several neighborhoods to evacuate ahead of military action. Israeli troops seized control of the Rafah border crossing on Tuesday, disrupting the flow of aid into the Strip.
At least 34,844 people have been killed and 78,404 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children.
Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 267 soldiers have been killed since the launch of its military operation in Gaza.
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CIA Director William J. Burns was in Israel on Wednesday and meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said an Israeli official speaking on the condition of anonymity due to government policy.
Talks on a cease-fire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas will resume Wednesday in Cairo, state-run Egyptian media reported. The United States believes that negotiations “should be able to close the remaining gaps” between Israel and Hamas, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
According to UNRWA estimates, some 50,000 people have fled their homes or shelters in the Rafah area since Israel on Monday ordered several neighborhoods to evacuate ahead of military action. Israeli troops seized control of the Rafah border crossing on Tuesday, disrupting the flow of aid into the Strip.
At least 34,844 people have been killed and 78,404 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children.
Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 267 soldiers have been killed since the launch of its military operation in Gaza.
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