Millions of Palestinians are marking the 78th anniversary of the Nakba. That's Arabic for "catastrophe," referring to the mass expulsion and flight of some 750,000 Palestinians from what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation. Friday's anniversary is the third commemoration of the Nakba since the war in Gaza began. More than six months after an October ceasefire, Gaza's more than 2 million people are now crammed into less than half of the 25-mile-long strip along the Mediterranean coast. They are surrounded by an Israeli-controlled zone. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country's military now controls 60% of the Gaza strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fending off criticism that he is not planning for a postwar reality in the Gaza Strip, saying it's impossible to prepare for any scenario in the embattled Palestinian enclave until Hamas is defeated. Netanyahu has faced increasing pressure from critics at home and allies abroad, especially the United States, to present a postwar plan for Gaza. Meanwhile, Palestinians are marking the 76th anniversary of mass expulsion from what is now Israel in the war surrounding the country's creation in 1948. More than twice the number expelled have been displaced within Gaza in this war.