Evening recap

Good evening Middle East Eye readers, 

At least 81 Palestinians were killed by Israel’s genocide in Gaza on Wednesday, as Israel said it was entering the first phase of its assault on Gaza City. Meanwhile, Hamas said Israel’s offensive on the urban centre showed a  “blatant disregard” for efforts by Egypt and Qatar to broker a ceasefire. The group accepted a 60 day ceasefire this week. 

Here is what else you need to know:

• The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) said that it filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for its failure to comply with a Freedom of Information Act (Foia) request demanding the financial records of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)
• A US-Palestinian advoacy group has condemned the Trump administration’s decision to sanction ICC judges and prosecutors as a “disgrace”
• Israeli media on Wedneday reported large-scale fighting between Hamas’s armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, and Israeli soldiers in Gaza 
• Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs and close advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ron Dermer, met on Wednesday with senior Qatari officials in Paris to discuss a Gaza ceasefire deal, according to a report by Axios