Israeli strikes kill 35 in Rafah - Hamas Commanders Eliminated
According to Palestinian health and civil emergency service authorities, Israeli attacks targeted Gaza's southern city of Rafah on Sunday, killing at least 35 Palestinians and injuring scores more. Rafah is home to hundreds of displaced Palestinians who left the northern portion of Gaza when israel launched a counterattack against Hamas' october 7 assault last year.
In a post on X, the israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it struck a compound in Rafah that was housing "significant Hamas terrorists" and was carried out with "precise munitions and on the basis of precise intelligence". It further claimed that the strikes killed Hamas's chief of staff for the West bank and another senior official of the Palestinian Islamist group.
The strikes occurred after Hamas claimed to have launched a volley of rockets into Israel's Tel Aviv for the first time in months, with rocket sirens sounding across the Jewish nation's centre region, according to news agency Reuters.
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• "In light of the horrific Zionist massacre this evening committed by the criminal occupation army against the tents of the displaced, we call on the masses of our people in the West bank, Jerusalem, the occupied territories and abroad to rise up and march angrily against the ongoing Zionist massacre against our people in the sector," the organisation stated, according to the Times of Israel.
• A representative for the white house National Security Council told the Times of israel that the US government, lead by President Joe Biden, is monitoring the situation involving Israeli strikes on a displaced people's camp in Rafah. "We're aware of the reports about the incident in Rafah and are gathering more information," the official stated.
• The Israeli army said that the attacks killed Yassin Rabia, Hamas' chief of staff for the West bank, and Khaled Najjar, a prominent member of the Palestinian party. The IDF claims Rabia was "involved in the transfer of funds for terror purposes and directed attacks by Hamas operatives" in the West Bank. He was also involved in other fatal strikes in 2001 and 2002, killing Israeli soldiers.
• Israel's strikes on Rafah occurred two days after the international court of Justice (ICJ) ordered israel to "immediately halt its military offensive" in Gaza. The decision supported South Africa's case last week, which requested a slew of actions against Israel. The court described the humanitarian situation in Rafah as "disastrous," noting that UN authorities have stated that it will "intensify even further" if the military operation in Rafah continues.