At least a hundred people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the town of Rafah, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources cited by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
(You can read: Israel reaffirms that it will direct its offensive towards Rafah, despite international pressure)
As reported in a statement, the Israeli Army attacked the area of the Shaboura refugee camp in Rafah during the early hours of the morning, while according to Wafa, the Israeli forces carried out “intense bombing” against several areas of the city, where some 1.4 million Palestinian civilians are crowded together, most of them internally displaced.
“Health sources in Rafah said that some 100 citizens, including children and women, were killed, and hundreds more were injured“Wafa reported.
According to local media, fighter jets carried out about forty attacks, “targeting in particular numerous mosques and houses housing displaced people, along with intense artillery bombardment by warships on the city of Rafah.”
According to Wafa, the bombings “also targeted areas near the border with Egypt”, and many dead and wounded were transported to the Kuwaiti Rafah Hospital, where hundreds of Palestinians fleeing the Israeli attacks also gathered.
(Also read: At least 112 Palestinians killed and 173 injured in Gaza in the last 24 hours)
Another Israeli attack on a house in the Deir Balah area, in the center of the Strip, also caused the death of 15 Palestinians.
Palestinians inspect the destruction following an Israeli attack in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, December 1, 2023.
On the other hand, the Israeli Army reported rescue of two hostages held by Hamas in a night operation in the Rafah area.
Those rescued had been taken hostage in the Hamas attack that began the current conflict on October 7.
The Israeli attack in Rafah occurred just hours after US President Joe Biden asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from a military offensive in Rafah without a plan to guarantee the safety of civilians.
In a call that both leaders held this Sunday, Biden called for urgent and targeted measures to increase the performance and consistency of humanitarian assistance to innocent Palestinian civilians.
(Also: The 6-year-old girl who died in Gaza begging for help for hours under Israeli attack)
“A military operation in Rafah should not be carried out without a credible and executable plan to ensure security and support for the more than one million people sheltering there,” Biden said during the conversation, according to a House statement. White.
A military operation in Rafah should not be carried out without a credible and implementable plan to ensure security and support for the more than one million people taking refuge there.
Rafah is the area of Gaza that was designated as safe by Israel. As its offensive in the north and center of the enclave advanced, the Israeli Army ordered the evacuation of civilians, and masses of them accumulated in Rafah, although attacks there continued for these months.
Netanyahu assured this Sunday that Israel is determined to carry out a ground offensive on Rafah, while international pressure is growing warning against this operation.
Since the outbreak of war more than 4 months ago, the offensive on Gaza has resulted in more than 28,100 Palestinians killed.
(Keep reading: Moving letter from a Colombian whose husband was kidnapped by Hamas)
EFE
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