al jazeera

By Lyndal Rowlands, John Power and Umut Uras

      Any Israeli ground offensive on Rafah will “blow up” the captive exchange negotiations, Al-Aqsa television channel quoted a senior Hamas leader as saying on Sunday.
   The United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Arab nations are warning Israel not to go ahead with the planned offensive, saying it would cause a humanitarian catastrophe.
   Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to travel to Doha to hold talks with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The two leaders are expected to discuss the role of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza’s future.
   At least 112 Palestinians have been killed in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to at least 28,176. At least 67,784 Palestinians have been wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza. The death toll in Israel from the October 7 Hamas attacks stands at 1,139.

    Egypt warns of ‘dire consequences’ of Rafah assault

    In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns of “dire consequences” of a potential Israeli military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, near the Egyptian border.

    “Egypt reiterates its complete rejection of statements by top Israeli officials about launching a military operation on Rafah, warning of its dire consequences, in light of the humanitarian catastrophe it threatens to deepen.”

    “Egypt called for the necessity of uniting all international and regional efforts to prevent the targeting of the Palestinian city of Rafah,” the ministry added.

    If you are just joining us

    It’s 8.30pm (18:30 GMT) on Sunday, February 11, in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel.

    Here are some of the main developments:

    Lebanon has slammed Israeli plans for a ground invasion of Rafah as “a continuation of the ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip”.
   UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell has said that civilians in Rafah must be protected as they have nowhere to go.
   The chief of UNRWA say the agency is facing growing administrative hurdles from Israel – with a shipment amounting to a month’s supply of food held in Israel’s Ashdod port.
   The armed wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, says that the Israeli military’s continued bombing of the Gaza Strip has resulted in the killing of two Israeli captives and the wounding of eight others.
   US Central Command (CENTCOM) says its forces conducted self-defence strikes against two unmanned surface vessels (USV) and three anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM) north of Yemen’s Hodeidah on Saturday.
   Gaza’s Health Ministry says 112 Palestinians have been killed in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll since October 7 to at least 28,176.

    Biden tells Netanyahu Rafah operation needs civilian protection plan

    The White House has released a read-out after President Joe Biden’s call with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, where he appears to have reiterated the US line that “a military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for more than one million people sheltering there”.

    The read-out added that Biden stressed “the need to capitalise on progress made in the negotiations to secure the release of all hostages as soon as possible”.

    Netanyahu had said before the call that he had not spoken with Biden since the US president had said Israel had gone “over the top” with its actions in Gaza.