Israel-Hamas war in Gaza: Hours after the Palestinian militant group Hamas claimed that it had launched a “large barrage of rockets” at the Israeli commercial hub of Tel Aviv, the Israeli army carried out airstrikes on a camp for displaced people in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip late on Sunday. The attack reportedly killed at least 35 Palestinians.
The strike was carried out based on “precise intelligence” against “legitimate targets under international law” and it killed two “senior” Hamas officials responsible for operations in the West Bank, the Israeli military said in a statement.
The strikes “claimed the lives of 35 martyrs and left dozens injured, most of them children and women”, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said in a statement.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it carried out the strike based on “precise intelligence” against “legitimate targets under international law” and that it killed two “senior” Hamas officials responsible for operations in the West Bank.
The Hamas government’s media office in Gaza said the attack targeted a center run by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees near Rafah, calling it a “horrific massacre.”
The Israeli military reported that its aircraft “striked a Hamas compound in Rafah,” resulting in the deaths of Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar, both senior officials of the Palestinian militant group in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military also acknowledged being “aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited, several civilians in the area were harmed. The incident is under review”.
The battle between the Israeli military and Hamas has recently focused on Rafah, where forces launched a ground operation in early May despite widespread opposition sparked by concerns about civilians seeking shelter there.
Top 10 updates on Israel-Hamas war in Gaza
1. Bloomberg reported that the area, not included in the Israeli military’s evacuation orders ahead of the assault on Rafah, attracted many people fleeing from more dangerous regions.
2. The strike comes two days after the International Court of Justice issued a ruling ordering Israel to suspend its operations in the name of sparing civilians.
3. According to the Israeli Army, at least eight rockets had been fired from Rafah towards the center of the country, targeting the commercial hub of Tel Aviv for the first time in months.
4. The Palestinian Red Crescent said its ambulance teams had transported “a large number” of people killed and wounded in the attacks in Rafah. The Palestinian presidency in the West Bank called it an “heinouss massacre” and accused Israeli forces of “deliberately targeting” the tents of the displaced.
5. According to Gaza’s civil defence agency, at least 50 people were killed or wounded in Israeli strikes in the area, which is believed to be home to 100,000 displaced people. Hamas said Palestinians must “rise up and march” against the “massacre” carried out by the Israeli army in Rafah.
6. Earlier on Sunday, the army wing of Hamas said it attacked Tel Aviv “with a large rocket barrage in response to the Zionist massacres against civilians”. Rafah is approximately 100 km south of Tel Aviv. “Hamas launched these rockets from near two mosques in Rafah,” Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said. He added, “Hamas is holding our hostages in Rafah, which is why we have been conducting a precise operation” there.
7. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue the offensive ahead of a war cabinet meeting, engaging in intense diplomacy to reach a ceasefire and an agreement on the release of the hostages.
8. Israel continued its operations in the southern tip of the Gaza Strip despite the UN’s top court on Friday ordering a halt to attacks on the city. Israel says the UN court ruling leaves room for some military action there.
9. The Israeli government says it wants to root out Hamas militants hiding in Rafah and free hostages it says are being held in the area, but its attack has worsened the plight of civilians and sparked an international outcry.
10. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, nearly 36,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israeli offensive. Israel launched the operation after Hamas-led militants attacked communities in southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
