Smoke rises from the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of an IDF airstrike. /Jack Guez/CFP
United Nations monitors reported an intense renewal of airstrikes and ground clashes between Israeli Defense Forces and Hamas fighters on Thursday (March 28), just days after the UN Security Council passed a binding resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the enclave.
Fighting was reported in the vicinity of three of Gaza's hospitals, including the Al-Amal hospital in the city Khan Yunis and the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, both of which have been under sustained IDF siege over the part week.
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The IDF carried out an airstrike on the Al-Shifa hospital early on Wednesday (March 27) claiming that its members had come under fire "from within and outside the emergency ward" and that the action was taken "while avoiding harm to civilians, patients, and medical teams."
Israel reschedules Rafah offensive talks with the U.S.
The escalation comes as Israel's government announced it would reschedule talks regarding its planned offensive on the city of Rafah with the United States.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu originally scrapped the planned meeting following the US decision to abstain from voting on the UN Security Council resolution calling on the IDF to cease its offensive on the enclave.
A man walks with a bicycle loaded with blankets and cushions past destroyed buildings. /AFP
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the Israeli government had decided to "to reschedule the meeting dedicated to Rafah" and that both parties were looking to find a "convenient date" to carry ahead.
Washington is expected to present Tel Aviv with an alternative plan aimed at unrooting Hamas from its last remaining stronghold, while limiting civilian casualties.
Ireland to South Africa in ICJ genocide case
International pressure resulting from the Israeli offensive has been mounting, with Ireland now seeking to join South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
The actions of the IDF across Gaza amounted to a "blatant violation of international humanitarian law on a mass scale," Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin said on Wednesday.
Displaced Palestinian refugees in the Jabaliya refugee camp reach out for food aid. /Mahmoud ISSA/AP Images via CFP
Martin listed a series of accusation against Israel. "The taking of hostages. The purposeful withholding of humanitarian assistance to civilians. The targeting of civilians and of civilian infrastructure. The indiscriminate use of explosive weapons in populated areas. The use of civilian objects for military purposes. The collective punishment of an entire population."
Ireland is seeking to have the international judicial body expand its definition of genocide to include the blocking of humanitarian aid, stating that "half the population of Gaza face imminent famine and 100 percent of the population face acute food insecurity."
The Palestinian death toll since October 7 has reached 32,552 according to the latest figures from Gaza's health ministry as 74,980 remain injured with little to no available medical care.
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