News brief

Israel pushes deeper into Rafah. The exodus of Palestinians from Gaza accelerated May 12 as Israeli forces pushed deeper into the southern city of Rafah. Israel also attacked the territory’s devastated north, where some Hamas militants have regrouped in areas the military said it had cleared months ago. Rafah is considered Hamas’ last stronghold. Some 300,000 of the more than 1 million civilians sheltering there have fled following evacuation orders from Israel, which says it must invade to dismantle Hamas and return hostages taken from Israel in the Oct. 7 attack, which sparked the war. 

The role of the United States as a major backer of the Israeli military is coming under rare and rising scrutiny due to the war in Gaza. Our charts put the debate in context.