Israel faces fresh US calls against attack on Rafah

TEL AVIV - Israel faced renewed calls from key ally the United States on Friday against launching a large-scale attack on Gaza's southern city of Rafah, where nearly 1.5 million Palestinians are trapped.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted he would push ahead with a "powerful" operation in the overcrowded city to achieve "complete victory" over the Hamas militant group.

The White House said US President Joe Biden had spoken by phone with Netanyahu late Thursday, urging him not to carry out an attack on Rafah without a plan to keep civilians safe.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been driven into Rafah, seeking shelter in a sprawling makeshift encampment near the Egyptian border.

The city now hosts more than half of Gaza's population, with displaced people "crammed" into less than 20 percent of the territory, according to UN humanitarian agency OCHA.

Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand have also urged Israel not to launch a ground offensive in the city.

Israeli strikes killed 112 people early Friday across the Palestinian territory, the Hamas-run health ministry said.

Israel's army reported the death of another soldier in Gaza early Friday, raising the number of soldiers killed in the ground operation to 233.