US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has confirmed that the US has temporarily halted an arms transfer to Israel due to concerns related to the military operation in Rafah. The decision was made amid growing international alarm over the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis it has created.
Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre expressed confidence that negotiations between Israel and Hamas are nearing completion, with talks ongoing to establish a ceasefire agreement for the hostages in Gaza. However, a senior official of Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sabotaging these negotiations, bringing the process back to square one.
The official spoke to Qatari newspaper The New Arab and suggested that Netanyahu was trying to buy time, warning the families of the hostages that the last round of negotiations may be their final opportunity to bring their loved ones home. Despite this setback, there is hope that an agreement could be reached soon, with both sides expressing a desire for peace.
Meanwhile, hospitals in southern Gaza are facing a critical shortage of fuel due to the closure of border crossings in Rafah, preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) raised concerns about the situation and called for urgent action to address it.
In Gaza, Hamas authorities have uncovered a new mass grave at Al Shifa hospital, where dozens of bodies have been exhumed. This discovery adds to the growing number of mass graves found in hospitals across the region, with hundreds of bodies already recovered. Amidst these developments, Israel claimed to have killed suspected militants and interrogated hundreds of individuals, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members.