- In brief, Palestinian sources reported that Israeli airstrikes in an area in the southern Gazan city of Rafah set aside for the displaced had resulted in at least 35 Palestinian deaths and several injuries.
- The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that as search and rescue operations proceeded in Rafah’s Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood, which is located about two kilometres northwest of the city centre, the death toll was probably going to go up.
- The airstrike was announced a few hours after Hamas launched its first rocket salvo from Gaza in several months.
Palestinian health and civil emergency service officials reported that at least 35 Palestinians have been killed and numerous others injured by Israeli airstrikes in an area of Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip city, that is allocated for the displaced.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the majority of the wounded and deceased were women and children.
The attack happened on Sunday, local time, in the western Rafah neighbourhood of Tel Al-Sultan. Thousands of Palestinians were seeking refuge there after fleeing the eastern parts of the city, where Israeli soldiers had started a ground onslaught more than two weeks prior.
A Palestinian health official informed Reuters that there were scores of Palestinian deaths and injuries, while Ismail Al-Thawabta, the director of the Gaza government media office managed by Hamas, estimated that there were 35 deaths.
Two days prior to the strike, Israel was ordered by the International Court of Justice to cease its military offensive in Rafah, the area where the majority of Gaza residents had sought refuge prior to Israel’s recent entry. Many have gone, leaving tens of thousands of people in the region.
The number of fatalities is expected to increase as search and rescue operations continue in the neighbourhood, which is located approximately two kilometres northwest of the city centre, according to a spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.
The group claimed that Israel has declared the region a “humanitarian area.”. The Israeli military issued an order to evacuate the suburb earlier this month.
The exact death toll was unknown because, according to medics, many of the injured were in serious condition.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, called the Rafah strike a “massacre” and blamed the US for providing Israel with financial and military support.
As one of the inhabitants arrived at the Kuwaiti hospital in Rafah, she remarked, “The air strikes burned the tents; the tents are melting, and the people’s bodies are also melting.”
Following allegations that the strike resulted in a fire and injured civilians, the Israeli military announced on Sunday that it had executed a targeted attack on a Hamas compound in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. However, it added that it was still investigating the situation.
“An IDF aircraft hit a Hamas compound in Rafah that housed a sizable number of Hamas terrorists.” The military said that the strike was conducted in accordance with international law, on lawful targets, using precise munitions, and based on exact intelligence that demonstrated Hamas’s use of the area.
“The IDF is aware of allegations that several civilians in the neighbourhood were injured as a result of the hit and the ensuing fire. It stated, “The incident is being reviewed.”
Fires and extensive damage were captured on camera.
According to his office, Yoav Gallant, the minister of defence, was briefed on the “deepening of operations” in Rafah on Sunday.
Hamas launches rockets, but no one is hurt
After more than seven months of Israel’s huge air, sea, and ground offensive, Hamas demonstrated resilience by firing a volley of missiles from Gaza, setting off air raid sirens as far away as Tel Aviv for the first time in months. Hours later, the Israeli air attack was reported.
This looked to be Gaza’s first long-range rocket attack since January, but there were no early reports of deaths.
The armed wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group stated later on Sunday that it had fired rockets at surrounding communities. Palestinian militants have been firing rockets and mortar rounds at communities along the Gaza border on a regular basis.
According to the Israeli military, eight rockets that were fired from Rafah entered Israel. It stated that “a number” of the missiles were deflected.
According to Daniel Hagari, the Rafah launcher was destroyed.
Relief trucks avoid the Rafah crossing
In the early hours of Sunday, hundreds of relief trucks arrived in Gaza from southern Israel as part of a revised arrangement to avoid using the Rafah gate with Egypt, which was taken over by Israeli forces from the Palestinian side earlier in the month.
According to the Israeli military, 126 relief trucks crossed at the neighbouring Kerem Shalom border.
However, due to the conflict, it was not immediately clear if humanitarian organisations could get the goods, including medical supplies.
The Israeli assault in Rafah has rendered the crossing essentially unusable.
According to UN agencies, retrieving aid is typically too risky. According to the World Health Organization, a further Israeli incursion into Rafah would have had a “disastrous impact” last week.
UN head António Guterres’ spokesperson issued a statement saying, “With the humanitarian operation near collapse, the secretary-general emphasises that the Israeli authorities must facilitate the safe pick-up and delivery of humanitarian supplies from Egypt entering Kerem Shalom.”
Egypt will not restore its portion of the Rafah crossing until the Palestinians regain control of the Gaza side.
Following a conversation between US President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, it consented to temporarily reroute traffic through Gaza’s primary cargo terminal, Kerem Shalom.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that about 36,000 Palestinians have died in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
About 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have left their homes; there is widespread severe hunger; and according to UN reports, starvation is occurring in several areas of the enclave.
With its onslaught on Israel on October 7, during which Palestinian militants killed over 1,000 people—mostly civilians—and took about 250 hostages, Hamas started the most recent conflict.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, hostilities have also increased as an outcome of the war.
According to Palestinian officials, a 14-year-old kid was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers on Sunday in the village of Saeer in the southern West Bank.
According to the Israeli army, the Palestinian man attempted to stab Israeli police at Beit Einun Junction before being shot and killed.
Souces – Reuters / AP
