Israel’s army continues to pound Rafah, targeting the Tal as-Sultan, Saudi, Tal Za’roub and al-Hashashin areas of the city, killing and wounding many Palestinians.

    The ongoing attacks come one night after Israeli forces bombed a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians in a designated safe zone in Rafah, killing 45 people, most of them women and children. The attack led to further international outcry for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israel’s military operation in the city.

    Israel’s top military prosecutor described the Rafah attack as “very grave” and said an investigation was under way. The Israeli military earlier confirmed that it carried out the attack on the camp, saying it targeted Hamas fighters.

    The Kuwaiti Hospital, one of Rafah’s two remaining hospitals, has shut down due to Israeli attacks, its director said in a statement. The forced closure comes after two of the hospital’s medical staff were killed earlier by Israeli shelling.

    At least 36,050 Palestinians have been killed and 81,026 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s attack on that date stands at 1,139, with dozens still held captive.

    Colombian president says ‘powerful democracies’ compromised, unable to oppose Israel

    Gustavo Petro said in a post on social media that “so-called powerful” democratic countries were unable to oppose Israel’s war on Gaza because “many owners of banks and capital funds belong to people who support the massacre”.

    Petro said the inaction of such states “endangers not only the existence of the Palestinian people but the very existence of democracy and humanity”.

    “Power in geopolitics today is nothing more than accumulated money and war planes,” he said, “hopefully tomorrow it will be accumulated life.”

    Colombia’s leader has been an outspoken critic of Israel and the war on Gaza, ordering last week that a Colombian embassy be opened in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank following the announcement that Bogota would sever diplomatic ties with Israel.

    Israeli military carries out arrests across the occupied West Bank

    The Israeli military has arrested three Palestinians from the Jalazone refugee camp, north of the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency reports.

    Among the arrested are a mother and her son, according to Wafa. Earlier, we reported that Israeli forces had stormed the camp and raided several homes.

    Israeli forces have also arrested a woman and two men in the Dheisheh camp in Bethlehem, four men in the village of Barqa, east of Ramallah, and two men in the city of Qalqilya, according to local media reports.