Middle East conflict live updates: Blinken to visit Israel; U.S. will assess Israeli assurances on weapons use

The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday that it was continuing its raid of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where it said 90 militants had been killed during the operation. Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the military’s chief of staff, said after visiting the hospital that the purpose of the operation was to hurt Hamas and apply pressure on hostage negotiations.

Canada will maintain a pause on arms exports to Israel unless it is certain their use would not breach legal controls on permitted exports, said Mélanie Joly, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs. There have been no new export permits of that type to Israel approved since Jan. 8, she said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has “already approved” the Israeli military’s operational plan for Rafah and that preparations “will take a little time” before it begins. President Biden and other world leaders have urged Israel not to operate in Rafah unless the city’s nearly 1.5 million civilians — many who fled there following Israeli directives — can be protected.

At least 31,923 people have been killed and 74,096 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and says 251 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.