This is an entry from: Israel's War on Gaza Live: Israel pounds Rafah in overnight strikes
Evening recap
16 April 2024 23:43 BST
Good evening Middle East Eye readers,
Forty six people were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza in the past 24 hours, according to Gaza's health ministry. This brings the total to 33,843 since the war began on 7 October.
An additional 110 were wounded, bringing the total to 76,575.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said Tuesday there had been "no significant change" in the amount of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip.
Unrwa said in a statement that "181 aid trucks have crossed into Gaza per day" through land crossings from Israel and Egypt so far in April.
It said this "remains well below the operational capacity of both border crossings and the target of 500 trucks per day."
In other developments:
- Low-cost airline EasyJet announced on Tuesday that it would be cancelling scheduled flights to Israel until the end of October, citing the ongoing situation in the country.
- Iberia Express plans to resume its flights connecting Madrid and Tel Aviv this Wednesday.
- German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was set to travel on Israel on Tuesday, in what Berlin said was a bid to de-escalate tensions and boost support for Israel.
- Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli leadership bear sole responsibility for the recent escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
- US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that there has been consistent progress in the amount of aid entering Gaza. However, he emphasised that it has not yet reached the desired level, and Washington is actively working to enhance it.
- Republican leaders from four US House of Representatives national security committees and one subcommittee released a statement endorsing Speaker Mike Johnson's proposal to advance legislation this week, offering security assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.