Palestinian health and civil emergency service authorities reported that at least 35 Palestinians were killed and numerous more were injured by Israeli airstrikes in an area of Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip city, that was set aside for the displaced.
The Israeli military declared that it used “precise ammunition and on the basis of precise intelligence” to launch an airstrike against a Hamas complex in Rafah.
It claimed to have removed the head of staff for Hamas in the West Bank as well as another top figure responsible for the fatal attacks on Israelis.
The IDF is aware of allegations that some local people suffered injuries as a result of the hit and the ensuing fire. The event is being investigated.
According to Ashraf Al-Qidra, the spokesman for the Gaza health ministry, the attack claimed the lives of 35 individuals and injured numerous others, the most of whom were women and children.
The attack happened in the western Rafah neighborhood of Tel Al-Sultan, where thousands of civilians were seeking safety after fleeing the eastern parts of the city, where Israeli forces had started a ground onslaught more than two weeks earlier.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, numerous casualties were being admitted to neighboring hospitals as well as its field hospital in Rafah.
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.”
Eight rockets were detected crossing from the Rafah area, which is at the southern edge of the Gaza Strip, earlier on Sunday, according to the Israeli military. This was despite a verdict on Friday by the top UN court ordering Israel to cease its attacks on the city.
It stated that several of the missiles were deflected. There were no casualty reports.
Later on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scheduled to meet with his military cabinet to discuss the ongoing operations in Rafah. Israel claims that the decision made by the UN court permits some military action in that region.
The Hamas al-Qassam Brigades claimed in a message posted on its Telegram channel that the rockets were fired in retaliation for “Zionist massacres against civilians.”
Approximately 100 kilometers separate Rafah from Tel Aviv.
Israel claims it intends to free hostages it claims are being held in the area and expel Hamas combatants who it claims are holed up in Rafah; nonetheless, its assault has made things worse for civilians and sparked uproar from around the world.
At least five Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks in Rafah on Sunday, according to local medical services. The deceased were recognized as civilians by the Gaza Health Ministry.
Since the beginning of operations in the city earlier this month, Israeli tanks have reportedly reached several of Rafah’s eastern areas and have investigated the city’s perimeters near the point where Gaza and Egypt meet. However, the city has not yet seen a large influx of tanks.
The rockets launched from Rafah, according to Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz, “prove that the [Israel Defense Forces] must operate in every place Hamas still operates from.”
At an operational assessment in Rafah, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant received briefings on “troops’ actions above and below the ground, as well as the intensification of operations in additional regions with the purpose of eliminating Hamas battalions,” according to a statement from his office.
Hardline public security minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who does not serve in Israel’s war cabinet, pushed the army to strike Rafah more forcefully. “Rafah with all of his might,” he wrote on X.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israel’s offensive has claimed the lives of around 36,000 Palestinians. Israel began the operation when, according to Israeli estimates, Hamas stormed villages in southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages.
Additionally, fighting persisted in the Jabaliya region of northern Gaza, which had seen fierce fighting earlier in the conflict. The military claimed to have discovered a weapons storage location at a school during one operation, along with several rocket parts and weapons.
It refuted claims made by Hamas that an Israeli soldier had been kidnapped by Palestinian fighters.
According to Hamas media, ten persons were killed and others injured after an Israeli airstrike targeted a home in a neighborhood close to Jabaliya.
Truce discussions
There have been little progress in negotiations to agree to a ceasefire and release over 120 prisoners for weeks, but this weekend’s conversations between US and Israeli intelligence officials and Qatar’s prime minister resulted in some encouraging developments.
The decision to resume the negotiations this week was made, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, with “active US involvement” and new ideas from the mediators in Qatar and Egypt.
A Hamas representative, however, downplayed the claim and told Reuters, “It is not true.”
According to his office, Netanyahu’s war cabinet would talk about the fresh ideas.
Izzat El-Reshiq, a second Hamas official, stated that contrary to what the Israeli media had claimed, the party has not heard from the mediators regarding any new dates for the discussions to resume.
Reshiq reiterated the demands of Hamas, which include: “Completing and permanently ending the aggression in the entire Gaza Strip, not just Rafah.”
While Israel is attempting to get its prisoners back, Netanyahu has stated time and time again that the attacks won’t stop until Hamas—which has pledged to destroy Israel—is destroyed.
Relief vehicles pull into Gaza
After an offensive spanning more than seven months that left the enclave in ruins and caused starvation, pleas have been made for Israel to send additional help to Gaza.
According to Khaled Zayed of the Egyptian Red Crescent, 200 relief trucks—four of which were gasoline trucks—were anticipated to pass through Kerem Shalom on Sunday and reach Gaza.
It comes after an agreement reached on Friday between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and US President Joe Biden to temporarily transfer supplies through the Kerem Shalom crossing rather than the Rafah gate, which has been closed for weeks.
On social media site X, Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV posted a video purporting to show relief trucks entering Kerem Shalom, which served as the primary commercial crossing point between Israel, Egypt, and Gaza before to the conflict.
Since Israel seized control of the Palestinian side of the crossing as it intensified its offensive, the Rafah crossing has been closed for nearly three weeks.
Egypt has refused to open its portion of the Rafah gate because it is becoming more and more concerned about the possibility of a big influx of Palestinians entering its territory from Gaza.
Israel has declared that it will not impose restrictions on relief supplies, and it has established additional northern crossing locations in addition to working with the US, which has constructed a makeshift floating pier for assistance delivery.
