AP:
Two women and five children were among at least 13 people killed as Israeli airstrikes pounded the city of Rafah on Gaza’s southern border, according to the hospital that received the remains.
The overnight airstrikes came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a cease-fire proposal from the Palestinian militant group Hamas and said he would expand the offensive into Rafah.
The U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken, left Israel on Thursday as the divide grows between the two close allies on the way forward.
More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population has been driven by Israel’s military offensive toward the border with Egypt. Unable to leave the tiny Palestinian territory, many are living in makeshift tent camps or overflowing U.N.-run shelters.
The Palestinian death toll from the war has surpassed 27,840 people, the Health Ministry in Gaza said. A quarter of Gaza’s residents are starving.
The war began with Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault into Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. Hamas is still holding over 130 hostages, but around 30 of them are believed to be dead.