Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the date to begin the ground offensive into Rafah city of Gaza has been set.

The PM, however, did not mention the exact date of the offensive.

He said that "entry into Rafah" was necessary for a "complete victory over Hamas", reported CNN.

Rafah is located in the southern part of Gaza where an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians are believed to be sheltering after escaping fighting in the north.

Palestinian request for UN membership moves on to specialized committee

The Security Council on Monday  (April 8, 2024) referred the application of the observer State of Palestine for full UN membership to the specialized committee set up to vet new members.

The proposal for the referral, made by Ambassador Vanessa Frazier of Malta, Security Council President for April, received no objections from the body’s 15 members.

“Unless I hear a proposal to the contrary, I shall refer to the Committee of Admission of New Members, the request that renewed consideration be given to the application of the observer State of Palestine, during the month of April 2024,” Frazier said, referring to Rule 59 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedures on new members.

Frazier also proposed that the admissions committee, a subsidiary organ of the Security Council, would meet at 3 PM the same day to consider the application. The Committee meetings are held behind closed doors, unless it decides otherwise.

Prior to the formal referral, the Council met privately to discuss the request submitted by Palestine that its earlier request for membership – made on 23 September 2011 – be reconsidered.

Palestine is a non-member observer State of the UN, the same status as held by the Holy See.

Any application for UN membership is considered by the Security Council, which then forwards it on to the 193-member General Assembly to adopt a resolution for the admission of a Member State.