Israel strikes back, 35 dead in Rafah after Hamas attack in Tel Aviv: 10 updates | World news

Latest news on the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip: Just hours after the Palestinian militia Hamas claimed it had fired a “major rocket attack” on Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv for the first time in months, the Israeli military carried out airstrikes late Sunday night on a camp for displaced people in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, reportedly killing at least 35 Palestinians.

The Health Ministry of the Hamas-controlled area said in a statement that the attacks “left 35 martyrs dead and dozens injured, most of them children and women.”

The Israeli military said in a statement that it carried out the attack based on “accurate intelligence” against “legitimate targets under international law” and that it killed two “senior” Hamas officials who were responsible for operations in the West Bank.

The Hamas-run government media office in Gaza said the attack targeted a UN agency center for Palestinian refugees near Rafah and called it a “horrific massacre.”

The Israeli army reported that its planes “struck a Hamas base in Rafah,” resulting in the deaths of Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar, two senior officials of the Palestinian militant group in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military also acknowledged that it had “reports that several civilians in the area were injured as a result of the attack and fire. The incident is currently under investigation.”

“I was walking and looking at my phone when the area was hit,” one survivor told Al Jazeera.

“I didn’t realise what had happened. I had no idea what had become of my family. My mother was with me and my brother was injured in the camp. I fell to the ground and saw that my leg was burst open,” Al Jazeera quoted the survivor as saying.

Another survivor said the airstrike “burned down a whole block.” “They burned people alive,” he said.

The recent fierce clashes between the Israeli military and Hamas have focused on Rafah, where the armed forces launched a ground offensive in early May despite widespread opposition out of concern for civilians seeking shelter there.

Top 10 updates on Israeli airstrikes on Rafah

1. The area was not among those the Israeli military had to evacuate as it prepared for the attack on Rafah, but it still attracted many people fleeing areas considered more dangerous, Bloomberg reported.
2. The attack came two days after the International Court of Justice issued a ruling ordering Israel to cease its operations under the pretext of protecting civilians.
3. The Israeli army announced on Sunday that at least eight rockets had been fired from Rafah at the central areas of the country. For the first time in months, the attacks targeted the commercial center of Tel Aviv.
4. The Palestinian Red Crescent said its rescue teams had transported “a large number” of people killed or injured in the attacks in Rafah. The Palestinian presidency in the West Bank spoke of a “heinous massacre” and accused Israeli forces of “deliberately attacking” the tents of the displaced people.
5. Gaza’s Civil Defense Authority said at least 50 people had been killed or injured in Israeli strikes in the area, which is home to 100,000 displaced people. Hamas said Palestinians must “rise and march” against the Israeli army’s “massacre” in Rafah.
6. Earlier on Sunday, Hamas’ armed wing said it had attacked Tel Aviv “with a massive rocket attack in response to the Zionist massacres of civilians.” Rafah is about 100 km south of Tel Aviv. “Hamas fired these rockets from near two mosques in Rafah,” said Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. He added: “Hamas is holding our hostages in Rafah, which is why we are conducting a precise operation there.”
7. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced ahead of a meeting of the war cabinet that the offensive would continue. Intensive diplomatic efforts are expected to negotiate a ceasefire and the release of the hostages.
8. Israel continued its operations in the southern tip of the Gaza Strip despite the UN’s top court ordering an end to attacks on the city on Friday. Israel argues that the UN court’s ruling leaves room for military action there.
9. The Israeli government says it wants to locate Hamas fighters holed up in Rafah and free hostages held in the area, but its attack has worsened the situation for civilians and sparked an international outcry.
10. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, nearly 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive. Israel launched the operation after Hamas-led militants attacked communities in southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli sources.

(With contributions from Bloomberg, AFP, Reuters)