Israeli forces kill 27 Palestinians, injure 180 others while waiting for humanitarian aid near center in southern Gaza

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 57,800 Palestinians so far, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and the spread of diseases.

Israel’s defense minister said he told the military to advance plans for what he called a “humanitarian city” built on the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza, according to reports in Israeli media.

Israeli airstrikes killed 14 Palestinians in Gaza and another 10 were killed while seeking food aid, hospital officials in the embattled enclave told The Associated Press on Saturday, as U.S.-led

Minister Israel Katz told reporters that the Israeli government was planning to establish a so-called “humanitarian city” in southern Gaza, on what used to be Rafah until Israel decimated the city. Israel would first force 600,000 Palestinians into the area, and eventually the entire population of over 2 million.