Main events on March 20th
- The Israeli military launched a ground invasion of Rafah’s central Shaboura area in southern Gaza, while a second ground assault was carried out in Beit Lahiya in the north.
- The assaults come amid Israel’s renewed bombardment of the Palestinian enclave, with Gaza’s media office saying at least 591 Palestinians have been killed over the past 72 hours.
- EU leaders have deplored the breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza, calling in a statement for the “immediate return to the full implementation of the ceasefire-hostage release agreement”.
- Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has welcomed the approval of a record number of new housing units in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying Israel is “leading a revolution” in the area.
- Israeli warplanes launched air strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon, targeting a string of villages, in its latest violation of the fragile ceasefire with Hezbollah.
Palestinians recite a prayer over the bodies of victims of Israel’s overnight air strikes in front of the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, on March 20
Israeli fighter jets bomb targets near Damascus: Reports
Israeli war planes have bombed military targets west of the capital Damascus, according to the TV Manar news outlet. There have been no reports of casualties so far.
Israel dropping bombs on Gaza, the Westbank, Lebanon and Syria, all thanks to US bomb shipments.