The Latest | Rafah's hospitals will run out of fuel in 3 days, WHO says

The World Health Organization says it has only three days of fuel for its medical operations in southern Gaza, with shortages already forcing one of three remaining hospitals in the city of Rafah to shut down.

The Rafah border crossing with Egypt has been closed since Israel's military took control of the Palestinian side early Tuesday, blocking the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid. The U.N. says northern Gaza is already in a state of “full-blown famine.”

Israel said it reopened Kerem Shalom crossing, the other main entry point for aid, early Wednesday. U.N. officials say no aid has entered Gaza, and there is no one to receive it on the Palestinian side because of ongoing fighting.

The war in Gaza has driven around 80% of the territory's population of 2.3 million from their homes and caused vast destruction to apartments, hospitals, mosques and schools across several cities. The death toll in Gaza has soared to more than 34,500 people, according to local health officials.

The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

Currently:

— Biden says US won’t supply weapons for Israel to attack Rafah, in warning to ally

— Why the U.S. paused the delivery of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel ahead of a possible Rafah attack

— Israel says it reopened a key Gaza crossing after a rocket attack. The U.N. says no aid has entered.

— Has Israel followed the law in its war in Gaza? The U.S. is due to render a first-of-its-kind verdict.

— Israeli tanks have rolled into Rafah. What does this mean for the Palestinians sheltering there?

— Scenes from Israel and Gaza reflect dashed hopes as an imminent cease-fire seems unlikely.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Here's the latest:

BIDEN SAYS US WON'T SUPPLY WEAPONS FOR ISRAEL TO ATTACK RAFFAH

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he would not supply offensive weapons that Israel could use to launch an all-out assault on Rafah — the last major Hamas stronghold in Gaza — over concern for the well-being of the more than 1 million civilians sheltering there.

Biden, in an interview with CNN, said the U.S. was still committed to Israel’s defense and would supply Iron Dome rocket interceptors and other defensive arms, but that if Israel goes into Rafah, “we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used, that have been used.”

The interview marked Biden’s toughest public comments yet about the potential Israeli military operation and followed his decision to pause a shipment of heavy bombs to Israel last week over concerns that the U.S. ally was moving closer to an attack on Rafah despite public and private warnings from his administration.

U.N. IS NEGOTIATING WITH ISRAEL AND EGYPT TO RESUME FUEL SHIPMENTS INTO GAZA

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations is engaged in intensive discussions with Israeli and Egyptian authorities to restart fuel shipments to Gaza as soon as possible in order keep providing humanitarian operations.

U.N. humanitarian staff in Gaza are rationing fuel to stretch what’s available for as long as possible, “but it is clear that it is a matter of hours, if not days, where we will have no more fuel,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Wednesday

Between May 1 and May 5, a daily average of 48 trucks carrying more than 160,000 liters of fuel entered Gaza through the now-closed Rafah crossing with Egypt, Dujarric said.

The U.N. spokesman confirmed that nothing has entered Gaza from the Kerem Shalom crossing, which Israel said it reopened Wednesday, because fighting is still ongoing. With rockets falling and other military activities, there is an issue of safety of humanitarian personnel, he said.

On the health front, Dujarric said the abrupt closure of one of the three hospitals in Rafah on Tuesday – Al Najjar – because of its location in an area Israel ordered to be vacated, left Gaza without its only operating facility for kidney dialysis. According to the World Health Organization, 200 patients now have no place to go for treatment, he said.

Dujarric also reported a tweet by Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA, saying a protest at its headquarters in East Jerusalem called by an elected member of the Jerusalem municipality on Tuesday “was nothing less than harassment, intimidation, vandalism.”

The protesters damaged the gates of the UNRWA office, which is supposed to protected by Israeli authorities, Dujarric said. Israeli police were outside the UNRWA office, and the U.N. has lodged a protest with Israeli authorities, he said.

ISRAEL CONFIRMS HAMAS ATTACK ON KEREM SHALOM BORDER CROSSING

JERUSALEM -- The Israeli army has confirmed a Hamas attack on the Kerem Shalom border crossing — a main entry point used to deliver aid into Gaza.

A military official said Hamas had fired unidentified projectiles at the crossing on Wednesday, which landed nearby. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries.

Hamas earlier had said it shelled the area, saying it had targeted a military base.

The attack came shortly after Israel reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing for aid deliveries. It had been closed since a Hamas attack on Sunday killed four soldiers near the crossing.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity pending an official announcement, said the attack would make it difficult to continue aid deliveries. The crossing is expected to reopen on Thursday for its regular daytime operating hours.