Israeli forces carried out new strikes in the southern city of Rafah amid fierce fighting with Palestinian militants overnight, residents said.Tensions also rose between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah after the latest in frequent exchanges of fire across Israel's northern border with Lebanon since the start of the Gaza war.
Fighting is ongoing in some parts of Gaza despite Israeli leaders claiming they are winding down the phase of intense fighting against Hamas and will soon shift to what it claims will be more targeted operations in the nearly nine-month-old war. "We were told to evacuate the European Hospital. We came to Nasser Hospital, but it was full," said Ali Abu Ismehan, who was wounded by Israeli fire and had both his legs and pelvis broken.An Israeli defence official claimed that although evacuation orders had been issued for the area where the European Gaza Hospital is located, staff and patients had been told they could stay.
In Lebanon, two security sources told Reuters the senior Hezbollah field commander who was killed had been outside the southern Lebanese city of Tyre and was responsible for a section of Hezbollah's operations along the frontier. Police described the incident as a suspected terror attack, and Israel's nYet news site claimed the accused attacker was from a town that is home to many members of Israel's Arab minority.