Airstrikes hit a southern Gaza border city crowded with civilians on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced a cease-fire proposal by Hamas and signaled that the Israeli military was preparing to move into the area.
At a news conference in Washington on Thursday, Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesman, raised concerns about the prospect of an Israeli military incursion into Rafah.
As the United Nations also warned of devastating consequences from an expansion of Israel’s military offensive, Israeli leaders and Hamas officials said on Thursday that they were still open to further negotiations to stop the fighting.
Aid groups and the United Nations have repeatedly warned that an advance on Rafah would be devastating because the city is now home to more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, many of whom are living in ramshackle tents after moving multiple times in search of safety.
The Israeli military made no formal announcement about the strikes on Thursday and declined to comment on whether they signaled the start of a ground offensive, saying it does not discuss “operational activity.”
“An expansion of hostilities could turn Rafah into a zone of bloodshed and destruction that people won’t be able to escape,” said Angelita Caredda, the Middle East and North Africa regional director.
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