At least 35 people were killed, including women and children, and dozens were injured after an Israeli attack on a refugee camp near Rafah, in Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas.
The Israeli military confirmed that it had carried out an airstrike targeting a Hamas compound in the area and was aware of a fire at the site that had caused damage to civilians. In a later statement, it reported that two Hamas leaders had been killed in the attack. The military said it was continuing to review what happened.
Civilians were trapped in the flames
The Red Crescent reported that its ambulances had transferred a “large” number of wounded to the Tal as Sultan clinic and field hospitals in Rafah, where there are hardly any operational medical centers left, and that “many” civilians were trapped by the flames that he stopped the attack.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the attack hit a refugee camp occupied by Palestinians displaced by the war in Gaza, in one designated as humanitarian protection and far from where recent military operations have taken place.
But the Israeli military said it had used precision weapons against legitimate targets.
Hours earlier, Hamas had launched eight rockets from Rafah toward Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest city, in the first attack of its kind since January.
Residents of Tel Aviv had to take cover when bombing warning sirens began to sound in the city center.
Eight rockets were intercepted by air defense systems or fell in the field, Israeli authorities reported.
Although no injuries were reported, the attack is a reminder of the threat Hamas poses to Israeli civilians.
Hamas said the attack on Tel Aviv was a response to Israel’s “massacre of Palestinian civilians.”
Millions had taken shelter in place
The Israeli military offensive in Rafah continues, despite the International Court of Justice ruling on Friday that US calls for the Israeli government to avoid punishment of civilians who have taken refuge in this area in the south must now stop. of Gaza from the bombs in the rest of the strip.
About 1.5 million had taken refuge there from fighting elsewhere in Gaza, according to the United Nations.
The Israeli army continues its advance towards the southern tip of Gaza to expel Hamas from what it calls its “last great stronghold.” He claims that some of the Israeli hostages Hamas took in its Oct. 7 attack are there.
The new day of violence comes ahead of new ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, which are expected to resume next week.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza began after Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel on October 7, leaving around 1,200 people dead and taking 252 hostage.
Nearly 36,000 Palestinians have died in the war since then, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry.
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