Overview

• Palestinian outlets and hospital sources report heavy bombardment and an Israeli encirclement of Gaza City, with dozens killed since dawn and strikes reaching residential areas including relatives of al‑Shifa hospital’s director.
• An IDF Arabic‑language spokesman warned of “unprecedented force” in Gaza City and urged evacuations, as local estimates say roughly 480,000 people have fled the urban area.
• The UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories concluded this week that Israel’s conduct in Gaza meets the legal threshold for genocide.
• New ACLED data indicate an exceptionally high civilian toll since March, estimating about 15 of every 16 Palestinians killed in Israel’s renewed offensive were noncombatants, alongside a sharp rise in building demolitions.
• The United States vetoed a Security Council draft pressing for unimpeded aid, an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and the release of all hostages, and CPJ says an Israeli strike in Sana’a killed 31 journalists as OHCHR counts 247 journalists killed in Gaza since October 2023.