BY PHIL BAINBRIDGE
February 19, 2024 – Reports say Israeli forces will enter Rafah at the start of Ramadan, expected to be March 10, if the remaining hosts held by Hamas are not freed.
The IDF estimates there are about 10,000 Hamas fighters in the city, along with up to 1.4 million civilians. There are 130 Israeli hostings still unaccounted for, with at least 29 thought to have died.
In a rare acknowledgment of its losses, Hamas estimates that it has lost 6,000 operatives to the fighting so far. The IDF estimates that 12,000 fighters belonging to Hamas and other Palestinian factions have been killed in the Israeli offensive, with another 1,000 killed during their deadly raid in Israel on October 7.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis is no longer functioning after a week-long siege and an ongoing raid by the IDF. The IDF said its troops have been told to keep the hospital working, and that no patients died as a result of their activity. The Palestinian Health Ministry says eight patients have died as a result of power outages, with ventilators shutting down.
