Live: Gaza death toll nears 50,700

An Israeli air strike targeted the vicinity of an Unrwa medical centre in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing eight people, including three children, Al Jazeera reported.

Two other Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli drone strike in the Khirbet al-Adas and Musbah areas north of Rafah, according to an earlier Al Jazeera report.

The families of Israeli captives issued a statement slamming Israel's announcement of the expanding military operation in Gaza's Rafah earlier Wednesday, The Times of Israel reported.

“Has it been decided to sacrifice the hostages for the sake of ‘territorial gains?" the families asked in a joint statement.

The captive families said that "instead of securing the release of the hostages through a deal and ending the war, the Israeli government is sending more soldiers into Gaza to fight in the same areas where battles have already taken place repeatedly."

The families "were horrified to wake up this morning to the defence minister’s announcement that the military operation in Gaza would be expanded for ‘capturing extensive territory," the statement said. 

“Our grave concern is that this mission has been pushed to the bottom of its priorities and [captives] has become merely a secondary objective."

Israeli forces have killed a 33-year-old Palestinian during a morning raid in the Old City of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, according to Wafa news agency.

The Israeli forces raided Hamza Muhammad Saeed Khammash's home in the Jasmine neighbourhood, and shot him at close range, wounding him in the thigh, the report said.

One person has been wounded after being shot in the foot in the city of Tulkarem amid Israel's ongoing military assault on the occupied West Bank on its 66th day.

Since October 2023, Israeli forces have killed 949 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including 190 children.

Israeli attacks have killed at least 21 people since dawn in central and southern Gaza, medical sources say.

At least 12 Palestinians were killed when Israeli forces targeted a house in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, while two others were killed in the northeastern area of Rafah, where the Israeli military announced it’s carrying out a widespread assault.

The US attacks on the province of Hodeidah have killed at least four people, according to the Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV.

The water management building in the district of al-Mansouriyah was struck, the Houthi-backed government said.

The Israeli military has deployed another division in Gaza as Defence Minister Israel Katz says the military is expanding its offensive in Gaza, The Times of Israel reported.

Palestinian media reported that the Israeli army was advancing in Rafah on Wednesday morning after an intense wave of air strikes on Rafah and Khan Younis since last night.

Katz said the ground forces will move to clear areas and "capture extensive territory that will be added to Israel’s security areas”.

Israeli forces have bombed a house in the city of Khan Younis, killing at least 12 Palestinians, according to Al Jazeera.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are some of the latest updates on Israel’s war on Gaza and the occupied West Bank:

• At least 17 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the early hours of this morning, according to Al Jazeera, citing medical sources.

• Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and Amnesty International condemned Israel’s killing of 15 medics and emergency workers, calling it a “yet another unconscionable attack on health and humanitarian operations in Gaza".

• The US is deploying one more aircraft carrier in the Middle East, while keeping one that is already there, according to a spokesman for the Pentagon.

• Amnesty International’s secretary-general said Hungary, a member of the International Criminal Court, has “an unequivocal obligation to arrest and surrender” the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the court if he is within its jurisdiction.

• Tens of thousands of civilians are fleeing Rafah under gunfire, UN’s humanitarian agency OCHA said in a post on X.

• Hundreds of Israeli settlers have opened fire at Palestinians and burned vehicles and agricultural land in the occupied West Bank village of Duma, Al Jazeera reported.

Our live blog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are the day's key developments:

- The UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights has reported that since the first day of Eid al-Fitr, at least 100 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in Gaza, with 32 of them being children.

- Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Israel would not allow the Palestinian Authority (PA) to control the occupied West Bank during a tour of the territory with far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said Israel was "here to stay".

- The journalists killed by Israel in Gaza far outnumber similar deaths in any armed conflict since the US Civil War, the Watson Institute's Cost of War project at Brown University has shown. 

- The United Nations on Tuesday dismissed as "ridiculous" an assertion by Israel that there was enough food in the Gaza Strip to last for a long period of time, despite the closure of all 25 bakeries in the enclave supported by the World Food Programme.

- Hezbollah confirmed the death of two of its members, Hassan Bdeir along with his son, Ali Bdeir, following the Israeli air strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Tuesday morning.

- The spokesperson for the Yemeni health ministry said three people were killed and two others wounded after US air strikes targeted the main water facility in al-Mansouriyah district in al-Hodeidah Governorate. 

- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced late on Tuesday that Israel is removing all tariffs on US goods in a bid to "strengthen the alliance and ties" between the two countries, he said in a post on X.

- US President Donald Trump said he held a phone call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during which they "discussed... Gaza, and possible solutions", Trump said in a post on his social media platform, TruthSocial.

- Princeton University said the US government froze several dozen research grants to the school, which became the latest academic institution targeted by the Trump administration for pro-Palestine speech.

Princeton University said on Tuesday the US government froze several dozen research grants to the school, which became the latest academic institution targeted by the Trump administration.

In a statement, Princeton President Chris Eisgruber said government agencies including NASA and the defense and energy departments notified the university of the move but gave no reasons for the action. Princeton did not provide a dollar value for the grants. 

The Trump administration has threatened to slash federal funding for other universities over their alleged tolerance of antisemitism and a failure to protect Jewish students during last year's pro-Palestinian protests on campus.

Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the administration wrongly conflates their criticism of Israel's military campaign in Gaza and advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism and support for Hamas.

- Reporting by Reuters 

In recent days, social media has become flooded with AI-generated images imitating the style of legendary Japanese filmmaker, Hayao Miyazaki.

Known as the "Ghibli Trend" - named after Studio Ghibli, of which Miyazaki is a co-creator, social media users are recreating historical events, movie scenes, and personal photos in the disctinctive and dreamy style of the acclaimed animation giant.

Government administrations and personnel have joined the trend as well, sparking controversy online.

On 30 March, the official Israeli army account on X, formerly Twitter, posted four AI-generated images depicting infantry soldiers standing with their weapons at an army post, a sailor manning naval anti-aircraft guns, soldiers in an F-15, and a naval corvette, all in the Ghibli style.

Read more: Some replied with AI-rendered images of the Israeli army targeting Palestinian children in the same style

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced late on Tuesday that Israel is removing all tariffs on US goods in a bid to "strengthen the alliance and ties" between the two countries, he said in a post on X. 

"Today we cancelled all of the customs duties levied on products from the US, Israel's largest trading partner," Netanyahu wrote. "Cancelling the customs duties on American goods is an additional step in the policy that my governments have led for a decade in opening up the market to competition, introducing variety to the economy and lowering the cost of living."

He added, "In addition to the advantages to the market and to Israeli citizens, the current effort will allow us to further strengthen the alliance and ties between Israel and the US. We will continue to work to reduce barriers and customs and bolster our special relationship with the US."

The spokesperson for the Yemeni health ministry on Tuesday said three people were killed and two others wounded after US air strikes targeted the main water facility in al-Mansouriyah district in al-Hodeidah Governorate. 

Most of the victims are employees of the plant, Anees Alasbahi said on X. 

The United Nations on Tuesday dismissed as "ridiculous" an assertion by Israel that there was enough food in the Gaza Strip to last for a long period of time, despite the closure of all 25 bakeries in the enclave supported by the World Food Programme. 

No aid has been delivered to the Palestinian enclave since 2 March. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has said it would not allow the entry of all goods and supplies into Gaza until Hamas releases all remaining hostages.

Then, later, on 18 March, Israel resumed its bombardment of Gaza after a two-month truce and sent troops back into the enclave.

Cogat, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid deliveries, said on Tuesday that during the truce, some 25,200 trucks entered Gaza, carrying almost 450,000 tons of aid. 

"That's nearly a third of the total trucks that entered Gaza during the entire war, in just over a month," Cogat said in a post on X. "There is enough food for a long period of time, if Hamas lets the civilians have it."

When asked about the statement, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters: "As far as the UN is concerned, that's ridiculous ... we are at the tail end of our supplies."

- Reporting by Reuters