More civilians were killed in Gaza on Tuesday as Israel kept up its bombardment of the enclave, despite recent comments by the Israeli premier that “intense phase” of the war was winding down.
Israeli forces launched more deadly strikes, with at least 24 people killed in three separate airstrikes on Gaza City, according to the territory’s civil defence agency.
Benjamin Netanyahu said the military will soon end the “intense phase” of operations in Gaza’s southern Rafah, which prompted vast numbers of civilians that had sought refuge there to flee once again.
Meanwhile the United States urged its ally to avoid further escalation along the Lebanon border.
With Israel planning to redeploy some soldiers from Gaza to the Lebanese frontier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday pressed the country’s defence minister not to allow the violence to spiral.
Blinken “underscored the importance of avoiding further escalation of the conflict and reaching a diplomatic resolution between Tel Aviv and Beirut.
