Palestinian health officials reported that at least 35 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday.
The bombings also damaged tents housing displaced persons in the same area, trapping “numerous” more individuals in flaming rubble.
Rocket sirens began to sound in cities like Tel Aviv for the first time in months just after Hamas allegedly launched a flurry of rockets from Gaza toward central Israel, according to reports of an airstrike.
A statement from Gaza’s Ministry of Health stated that scores of people, including women and children, had been hurt and that 35 people had died.
“The Ministry of Health confirms that never before in history has such a large number of mass killing tools been amassed and employed together in front of the world as is happening now in Gaza,” the statement read in light of the attack, highlighting the acute shortages of fuel, water, food, medicine, electricity, and supplies.
The largest UN warehouse in the Gaza Strip was situated 200 meters (650 feet) from the tents, which were a part of a camp.
In a statement released on Sunday evening, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed the strike.
“A short while ago, an IDF aircraft struck a Hamas compound in Rafah in which significant Hamas terrorists were operating,” the IDF stated. “The strike was carried out against legitimate targets under international law, using through the use of precise munitions and on the basis of precise intelligence that indicated Hamas’ use of the area. The IDF is 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 attack takes place two days after Israel was told to cease its military campaign in Rafah by the International Court of Justice.
Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, was updated on the “deepening of operations” in Rafah on Sunday, according to his office.
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After more than seven months of Israel’s huge air, sea, and ground offensive, Hamas demonstrated resilience by firing a volley of missiles from Gaza, setting off air raid sirens as far away as Tel Aviv for the first time in months. Hours later, the airstrike was confirmed.
The attack and rocket launches, according to Hamas’ military wing, were audible in central Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces said that eight rockets were fired against Israel from Rafah in the Gaza Strip, and that several of the missiles were intercepted by the air defenses.
The crisis intensified just hours after relief trucks from southern Israel crossed into Gaza by way of a revised arrangement that avoided the Rafah crossing into Egypt. Rafah, in the south, was taken over by Israeli forces earlier this month.
The continued violence in the area made it uncertain if humanitarian agencies would be able to obtain the aid.
Nearly 36,000 Palestinians have died in the eight months of the battle between Israel and Hamas, according to local health officials.
Approximately 80% of the 2.3 million people living there have left their homes, extreme hunger is pervasive, and according to U.N. experts, famine is occurring in several areas of the region.
With its invasion into Israel on October 7, during which its militants killed over 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and took about 250 hostages, Hamas started the conflict. About 100 hostages are still being held by Hamas, along with the remains of about 30, the majority of whom were freed during a cease-fire last year.
