the house of representatives also overwhelmingly approved a military assistance package for israel, which has been carrying out a military offensive in gaza since hamas attacked israel on october 7th. hamas is designated a terrorist organisation by western governments — israel says around 1200 people were killed in that attack and around 130 israelis and foreigners are still being held hostage. gaza's health ministry says more than 311,000 palestinians have been killed inside gaza so far, most of them women and children. israel's military action continues — overnight israel carried out more airstrikes in rafah, in the south of the territory. this is the aftermath. 18 palestinians have reportedly been killed — mostly children. 18 palestinians have reportedly been killed — mostly children. the israeli war cabinet has been planning an offensive against hamas in rafah, where an estimated 1.5 million displaced palestinians are sheltering. the us and other allies have warned israel against a full—scale assault on the city. i asked our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, injerusalem about the significance