Middle East conflict live updates: Israel to reschedule talks in Washington on Rafah offensive, U.S. says

Several senior Biden administration officials spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Washington this week about the impending ground offensive in Rafah, Jean-Pierre said, adding that the United States is working with Israel to “find a convenient date” for a meeting dedicated to the topic.

Israeli forces have launched operations inside al-Amal Hospital in southern Gaza, the Israeli military confirmed Wednesday, as their raid on al-Shifa Hospital in the north continued since its launch more than a week ago. About two-thirds of hospitals in Gaza were nonfunctional as of Wednesday, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

More than half of Americans say they disapprove of Israel’s military action in Gaza, while 36 percent say they approve of it, according to a Gallup poll of 1,016 U.S. adults released Wednesday. Sixty-four percent of Republicans and 18 percent of Democrats support Israel’s military action, the poll found.

At least 32,490 people have been killed and 74,889 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 253 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.