KUALA LUMPUR – At least 35 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a camp for displaced people in Rafah in southern Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) also confirmed a strike “on a Hamas compound” in Rafah, which it said was launched to target two senior Hamas officials, CNN reports.
IDF said it killed the two officials identified as Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar, whom it claimed were Hamas leaders in Judea and Samaria.
Unverified videos on social media show horrendous carnage at the camp for displaced people, with survivors trying to pull burnt bodies out of the rubble amid heavy smoke.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society confirmed to CNN that it was a camp designated as a “safe zone” for those who fled other parts of Gaza to escape Israel’s onslaught on the occupied territory since this latest war on Hamas began on October 7 of last year.
With news of an impending attack on Rafah in recent weeks, many of those who sought shelter there have left the area for an Israel-designated “humanitarian area” close to the coast, but media reports have said the area is also full of people seeking refuge.
Meanwhile, yesterday the IDF said eight rockets had been fired from Rafah into Israel, with most of them intercepted.
In eight months of war, more than 35,900 Palestinians have been killed and over 80,000 injured, while Israel’s death toll is reportedly at 1,478 people. – May 27, 2024