Israel expands offensive in Gaza. Netanyahu: 'We divide the Strip'. Attack on Syria

Since the resumption of fighting, 1,042 people have been killed, according to figures published yesterday by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health, bringing the total death toll to 50,399 since the start of the war triggered by the Hamas attack on Israeli soil on 7 October 2023. According to a count by the Afp news agency based on official data, the 7 October attack resulted in the death of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians. Of the 251 people abducted, 58 are still being held in Gaza and, according to the army, 34 have died. About 130 babies were born every day in Gaza during the total siege of goods and aid imposed by the Israeli authorities and entered its second month, putting mothers and babies at risk as medical and food supplies ran out and flour shortages forced all bakeries to close. This is according to Save the Children, the international organisation that has been fighting for over 100 years to save girls and boys at risk and ensure their future.

Meanwhile, at least 21 people were killed in Israeli attacks since dawn today in the central and southern Gaza Strip, medical sources said, reports al Jazeera. In one of the deadliest attacks, Israeli forces targeted a house in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, killing at least 12 Palestinians. Two others were killed in an attack in the north-eastern area of Rafah, where the Israeli army announced it is carrying out a large-scale assault to take over 'large areas' of the territory.

''We are running out of essential medical supplies,'' said the Msf team in the Gaza Strip a month after the Israeli decision to stop humanitarian aid from entering the Palestinian enclave. ''We are running out of anaesthetics, antibiotics and many other essential medical supplies,'' read a Msf note. ''Due to rationing, we are forced to treat patients' wounds without providing any painkillers,'' they add. ''We call on the Israeli authorities to immediately end the collective punishment of the Palestinian population,'' the appeal reads. ''People are deprived of basic necessities such as food, water and medicine while Israeli forces continue to bombard the Gaza Strip, risking a high number of health complications and deaths'', the Msf note continues.

' No humanitarian aid or trucks have entered Gaza for over a month, marking the longest period since the beginning of the war without trucks entering the Strip, and on 2 March, a month ago, the Israeli authorities imposed a total siege of Gaza. On 9 March, they cut off the electricity needed to power the water desalination plants. A total blockade of aid and electricity that is depriving the population of the most basic services, a real collective punishment', Msf adds.

Some incidents increase the tension even more. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visits Jerusalem's Temple Mount, the Esplanade of the Mosques, after a Ramadan period lasting almost two weeks, during which access to the disputed holy site remained closed to Jews. The Times of Israel reports. Ben Gvir's visit provokes criticism within the coalition.

Tonight, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under arrest warrant by the ICC, will arrive in Budapest and tomorrow he will meet Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who invited him and assured him that he would not follow up on the ICC warrant. And indeed, Hungary is ready to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC), Justice Minister Bence Tuzson announced in a closed-door meeting with some diplomats, according to information published by the online newspaper Free Europe. The draft of the parliamentary resolution authorising the government to initiate the exit procedure has reportedly already been prepared. A day after accusing the police of holding two of his aides as 'hostages' in the Qatargate investigation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement that Qatar is not an enemy state. The Times of Israel reports. 'Qatar is a complex country, not a simple country,' he said in a video. "It is not an enemy country, and many praise it." Netanyahu defended Jonatan Urich, one of his top aides arrested in the investigation. "Jonatan is a devoted employee," he said. "He is my political adviser in the Likud. He has no access to classified intelligence material," he added.