Israel said its strikes on Gaza’s biggest refugee camp killed two Hamas military leaders in Jabalia as hundreds of foreign nationals and injured Palestinians left Gaza through the Rafah crossing.
Israel’s defence ministry said it struck the refugee camp as the Hamas had command centres and other “terror infrastructure under, around and within civilian buildings, intentionally endangering Gazan civilians”.
More than 195 Palestinian civilians were killed in the two Israeli strikes on the camp, with 120 still missing under the rubble and 777 more injured, said Gaza’s Hamas-run government media office.
Following Israel’s most controversial strikes on a refugee camp, US president Joe Biden called for a humanitarian “pause” in Gaza but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.
“A pause means give time to get the prisoners out,” he said.
It comes as the Rafah crossing opened for the first time since the war began more than three weeks ago and will reopen again today.
Around 320 foreigners, including Britons and Americans, and dozens of seriously injured Palestinians have been allowed to leave Gaza.
The UK Foreign Office said the crossing to Egypt would be open for “controlled and time-limited periods” to allow foreign nationals and the seriously injured to leave.