<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Israeli strikes hit Gaza today after renewed US criticism over its conduct of the war and a UN warning of “epic” disaster if an outright invasion of crowded Rafah city occurs.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>AFP journalists reported the strikes in various sectors of the coastal territory, where the UN says aid is blocked after Israeli troops defied international opposition and entered eastern Rafah this week, effectively shutting two crossings.</div><div><br></div><div>A long-awaited US state department report yesterday said Israel likely violated norms on international law in its use of weapons from the US – its main military supplier – but it did not find enough evidence to block shipments.</div><div><br></div><div>The state department submitted its report two days after President Joe Biden publicly threatened to withhold certain bombs and artillery shells if Israel goes ahead with an all-out assault on Rafah, where the United Nations said 1.4 million had been sheltering.</div><div><br></div><div>After rising criticism from Washington over the civilian impact of Israel’s war against Hamas, the threat was the first time Biden raised the ultimate US leverage over Israel – its military aid which totals US$3 billion annually.</div><div><br></div><div>UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said yesterday that Gaza risked an “epic humanitarian disaster” if Israel launched a full-scale ground operation in Rafah.</div><div><br></div><div>Israeli troops on Tuesday seized and closed the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza – through which all fuel passes into the territory – after ordering residents of eastern Rafah to evacuate. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/fas</div>