International Desk

At least 300,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah, according to the United Nations, as Israel expands its offensive in the southern city and confronts Hamas fighters there.

Rafah is considered the last refuge in Gaza for over a million civilians as well as Hamas’ last stronghold.

The neighbouring country Egypt issued its strongest objection yet to the Rafah offensive. It said it intends to formally join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) alleging Israel is committing genocide in Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has defended a decision to pause delivery to Israel of 3,500 bombs over concerns they could be used in Rafah, saying Israel lacked a “credible plan” to protect the civilians sheltering there.

Rafah has been sheltering an estimated 1.4 million Palestinians, most of them displaced from elsewhere by Israeli bombardments, amid dire shortages of food and water.

Blinken reiterated opposition to a major military assault on Rafah, and said that Israel would “be left holding the bag on an enduring insurgency” without an exit from Gaza and post-war governance plan.

Gaza has been left without a functioning government, leading to a breakdown in public order and allowing Hamas’ armed wing to reconstitute itself.

Biden has made clear to Israel that if it “launches this major military operation to Rafah, then there are certain systems that we’re not going to be supporting and supplying for that operation,” Blinken said.

At least 35,034 people have been killed and 78,755 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October last year. The revised death toll in Israel from Hamas’s 7 October attacks stands at 1,139 with dozens of people still held captive.