Gaza live: Biden moves ahead with military aid for Israel as it launches ground assaults on Rafah

The Israeli army said it has launched a new raid in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood overnight, claiming it aims to further dismantle Hamas infrastructure and eliminate "terrorists" in the area.

Israel struck around 25 sites in the area before carrying out the raid.

Palestinian journalists in the city reported the presence of Israeli tanks advancing into the neighbourhood, with many residents fleeing the area.

Al Jazeera's correspondent says Israeli strikes targeted the homes of the Dado, Yassin, Abu Hawar, and Nasser families.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said in its latest rapid assessment report that Israel's continued control and closure of the Rafah border crossing is "choking off the entry of life-saving aid into Gaza".

"The continued block on the entry of critical humanitarian items via [the] Rafah Crossing and continued hostilities would have serious consequences on access to food and nutrition services," the UN report says.

The report added that prior to Israel's takeover of the crossing, an average of 48 relief trucks and 166,000 litres of diesel were entering Gaza on a daily basis.

The report included an older warning from the UN's children agency, Unicef, which says that over 600,000 children "crammed" in Rafah were already "highly vulnerable and at the edge of survival", adding that an Israeli ground incursion would "expose them to catastrophic risks".

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates:

• At least 13 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli strike near a mosque in Gaza City, with scores of others killed in strikes on Nuseirat and Rafah, the Wafa news agency reports
• The UN says at least 109 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on homes in Rafah between Monday and Wednesday, including many women and children
• Additionally, four people have been killed in a recent Israeli strike on the west of Rafah city
• CIA chief Bill Burns returned to Cairo after holding talks with Mossad chief David Barnea and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, CNN reports
• The Israeli army said one soldier was killed in a mortar and missile attack by Hezbollah in northern Israel on Wednesday
• Pro-Israel US Democrats are slamming President Biden's decision to stop arms transfers to Israel should it invade Rafah, with Senator John Fetterman and Representative Ritchie Torres expressing their deep disagreement with the move
• Aid workers say the Israeli army is already in Rafah, causing chaos, and strikes are being carried out even outside the evacuation zone in the city
• The Norwegian Refugee Council said none of its aid trucks have been permitted to go through the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, despite Israel saying it has reopened the crossing for aid deliveries

The World Health Organisation chief has called for a ceasefire in Gaza “urgently for the sake of humanity”, in a social media post on X.

“We are deeply concerned about Israel’s increased military activities in Rafah,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added.

He reaffirmed that the WHO “has no intention of withdrawing from Rafah and will stay and deliver alongside our partners”.

Ireland’s prestigious Trinity College Dublin (TCD) said on Wednesday that it would divest from Israeli companies, ending a five-day-long pro-Palestinian demonstration by students.

TCD said it had reached an agreement after “successful talks between the university’s senior management and the protestors”, in a statement posted on its website.

The College added that it “will complete a divestment from investments in Israeli companies that have activities in the occupied Palestinian Territory and appear on the UN blacklist in this regard”.

The Israeli army said the Kerem Shalom crossing was again targeted on Wednesday by rocket fire that "lightly injured" one soldier.

"Eight launches were identified crossing from the area of Rafah into the area of Kerem Shalom", a military statement read, adding that "as a result of the launches, an IDF soldier was lightly injured.”

Hamas fighters and Israeli soldiers are engaged in fierce fighting in Rafah, with Hamas also saying it has fired mortars at Israeli troops. 

The US ambassador to Israel was filmed in a meeting with a prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbi, describing Israel’s war on Gaza as “very unpopular” in the US.

“Since October 7, I think the world has seen that for most of his life, Joe Biden is a Zionist,” US ambassador Jack Lew was filmed saying.

He added however that, “It’s not easy because it’s a very hard war and it’s not a very popular war in the United States."

The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) called on Israel to open the Rafah border crossing, warning of the deteriorating humanitarian situation.

"Without fuel, trucks cannot move critical humanitarian assistance, water pumps will stop functioning & the remaining hospitals will shut down,” Philippe Lazzarini said on X.

Lazzarini was responding to a post by the head of Unrwa distribution in Gaza that said the organisation had not received any aid into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

“The crossings must open for fuel & humanitarian supplies must start flowing back into Gaza smoothly,” Lazzarini said.

The death toll from Israel’s bombardment of Rafah grew to at least 35 on Wednesday, according to a medical source who spoke with Anadolu news agency.

The news agency said that the Palestinian victims are only those who arrived at the Kuwait Hospital in Rafah city, and that children and women are among them.

Israel attacked Rafah on Monday despite warnings from the international community, the UN and aid workers.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN said Israel is “frustrated” by the Biden administration’s decision to delay arms shipments.

“It’s a very disappointing decision, even frustrating,” Gilad Erdan told Israel’s Channel 12 news.

At least 14 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza on Wednesday, according to Arabic media reports.

Thirteen Palestinians were killed when Israel bombed an area near a mosque in the Al-Daraj neighbourhood east of Gaza City, according to the Palestinian news agency, Wafa.

Meanwhile, Israel continued to pummel the southern border town of Rafah with strikes. At least one Palestinian was killed by Israeli artillery shelling, according to Wafa.

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the level of aid reaching Gaza is “just unacceptable”.

Miller also said that Israel’s attack in Rafah did “not happen with our approval”.

He added that the Biden administration was set to miss a deadline mandated by a National Security Memorandum ruling whether Israel is using US weapons in accordance with humanitarian and international law.

The Biden administration is exploring other weapons shipments that it might pause sending to Israel, according to State Department spokesman Matthews Miller.

Miller said “too many Palestinians” have died and that the White House has “been clear for some time the results are unacceptable.”

“We’ve paused one shipment," he said. "we are reviewing other potential weapons systems. I’m not going to get into the underlying details here." 

The head of Unrwa distribution in Gaza said that the organisation has not received any aid into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, in a social media post on X.

“We’re not receiving any aid into the #GazaStrip, the #Rafah crossing area has ongoing military operations - there have been continued bombardments in this area throughout the day,” Scott Anderson said.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad said three of its fighters were killed by an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon.

The three fighters were Syrian and belonged to the Ali al-Aswad Brigade, the group said.

The daily fire along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on Wednesday.

A Lebanese security source told AFP that in a separate strike, five people, including at least two Hezbollah fighters, were also killed in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah meanwhile said its forces carried out at least 11 attacks against northern Israeli army positions across the border, using drones and "guided missiles"..