An attack near the southern Gaza city of Rafah took place late Thursday, Feb. 8, resulting in at least 13 people being killed. Rafah is where more than a million Palestinians have taken refuge because Israel had previously told Gazans they would be safe there. Meanwhile, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, stated that due to Israel's obligation to keep civilians safe, a planned military operation in Rafah "cannot proceed."
Here is a look at memorable photos from the past week in the region:
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Abed Zagout / Anadolu via Getty Images
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Anadolu via Getty Images
Palestinians who took refuge in schools amid ongoing attacks by Israeli forces try to stay warm and cook a meal on an open fire in the Rafah schoolyard on Thursday, Feb. 8.
Dylan Martinez / Reuters
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Reuters
Israeli soldiers stand on a tank near the sea in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Feb. 8.
Amir Levy / Getty Images
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Getty Images
Protesters disguised as pregnant women take part in a demonstration in Tel Aviv, calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, on Thursday, Feb. 8.
Amir Levy / Getty Images
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Getty Images
Yoel Kadish holds a photo of his cousin, Or Yosef Ran, who was killed in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, as protesters block humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza on Tuesday, Feb. 6, in Kerem Shalom, Israel.
Dylan Martinez / Reuters
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Reuters
Friends and family share a Shabbat meal as people begin to return home in Sderot, Israel, on Saturday, Feb. 10.
Ahmad Hasaballah / Getty Images
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Getty Images
People survey the damage to their homes caused by Israeli airstrikes in Rafah on Wednesday, Feb. 7. There are mounting concerns over an Israeli Defense Forces ground invasion of Gaza's southern city of Rafah, where over a million internally displaced Palestinians are sheltering, as the U.N. warns of a potential "large scale" loss of life.
Jack Guez / AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
On Feb. 7, people look at a poster with pictures of young people taken captive or killed by Hamas militants during the Oct. 7 attack on concert attendees at the Supernova music festival.
Fatima Shbair / AP
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AP
Palestinians mourn their relatives who were killed in the Israeli ground offensive and bombardment of the Gaza Strip, outside a morgue in Rafah on Feb. 8.
Ariel Schalit / AP
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AP
A woman shouts slogans after being detained by the police in Tel Aviv on Saturday, Feb. 10, during a protest to demand the release of the hostages taken by Hamas militants during the Oct. 7 attack.
Said Khatib / AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
Palestinian paramedics load bodies recovered from a wrecked car into an ambulance following reports of an Israeli bombardment on Rafah on Tuesday, Feb. 6.
Ariel Schalit / AP
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AP
Israeli soldiers guard a crater-like hole giving way to a small tunnel entrance in an UNRWA compound on Thursday, Feb. 8, where the military discovered tunnels underneath the main headquarters of the U.N. agency that the military says Hamas militants used to attack its forces during a ground operation in Gaza.
Mohammed Abed / AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
A woman and children sit outside tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Rafah on Thursday, Feb. 8.
Menahem Kahana / AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
Smoke plumes billow above the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel on Sunday, Feb. 11.
Abed Zagout / Anadolu via Getty Images
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Anadolu via Getty Images
Palestinians who have fled their homes and taken refuge in a school to ensure their safety during Israeli attacks gather to celebrate Lailat al Miraj in Rafah on Thursday, Feb. 8.
NPR's Scott Simon speaks to Syrian-American composer Malek Jandali about the fall of the dictatorship in Syria and his hopes for his homeland's future.
NPR's Scott Simon speaks to David Miliband, CEO of the International Rescue Committee, about the group's 2025 Watchlist, which warns that more than 300 million people require humanitarian assistance.
The fall of the Assad regime in Syria has freed at least thousands of people detained in Syria's notorious prisons. Some of them have made it back home. Other families are still looking.
