RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) – At least nine people were killed, six of them in an Israeli airstrike on a home in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, as Israel continues its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory. is a child, hospital officials announced Saturday. .
israel war Military operations against the Islamic extremist group Hamas have led to a dramatic escalation of tensions in the Middle East, particularly between the two countries. israel and iran In the last few weeks. Now the spotlight is back on Rafa. Rafah has displaced more than half of Gaza's roughly 2.3 million people, many displaced by fighting elsewhere.
Relatives sobbed and hugged the wrapped bodies of their children at Al-Najjar Hospital. “My dear Hamza, your hair is so beautiful,” said her mourning grandmother.
His brother-in-law, Ahmed Barhoum, said the dead included Abdelfattah Sobhi Radwan, his wife Najullah Ahmed Aweida and their three children. Barhum lost his wife Rawan Radwan and 5-year-old daughter Alaa.
“This is a world completely devoid of human values and morals,” Barhoum told The Associated Press, crying as he held Alaa's body. “The only martyrs were women and children.”
Israel has been claiming for months that it is planning a ground attack Despite calls for restraint from the international community, it has been announced that many Hamas militants remain in Rafah. Including the United States, Israel's most loyal ally.
Some Palestinians left the Rafah area near the Egyptian border on Saturday following an evacuation order from the Israeli military. “Guys, they attack at 3:40. It's happening. What time is it now?” one said. A few minutes later, a strike occurred. It was not immediately clear whether anyone had died.
Also on Saturday, an Israeli airstrike hit a house in the urban refugee camp of Brej in central Gaza, killing at least one man and killing two others, according to authorities at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where an Associated Press reporter witnessed casualties. A person was injured.
What triggered the war was The unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7th About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in attacks by Hamas and other militants, and about 250 were kidnapped and taken to Gaza.Israel says: 130 hostages remain in Gaza Even though more than 30 people died.
Many people in Israel remain dissatisfied, with thousands of anti-government protesters in Tel Aviv once again calling for new elections and a deal to release the remaining hostages. “We're here crying and asking for help because we don't know what to do anymore,” said Iris Milner, one of the protesters.
Gaza's Health Ministry says the death toll of Palestinians in the conflict is at least 34,049 and 76,901 injured, with 37 bodies killed in Israeli attacks arriving at hospitals in the past 24 hours. He added that he had been transported. Hamas-run health authorities do not distinguish between numbers of fighters and civilians, but at least say: Two-thirds were children and women.
Israel blames Hamas for the civilian casualties and says it is embedded within the population.
The war increased tensions in the region.Israel vs. arch-enemy Iran on Friday clearly downplayed Israeli airstrikes It marks the retreat from what could have been an all-out war near a major air base and nuclear facility in central Iran. A week ago, Iran launched an artillery attack. unprecedented missile barrage against Israel after allegedly being killed in an Israeli attack. two Iranian generals At the Iranian consulate in Syria.
Israel continues to confront Iranian proxies and frequently exchanges rocket and drone attacks with the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah across the Lebanese-Israeli border. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, praising solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Tensions rise even within the company. Occupy the West Bank of the Jordan River.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said 12 bodies were removed from the Nursham urban refugee camp on Saturday, raising the death toll to 13 since Israeli military operations began in the area on Thursday night. It announced that they were killed “as a result of an invasion by occupying forces.”
The Islamic Jihad militant group confirmed the deaths of three members. The other deceased was a 15-year-old boy. The Israeli military said its forces killed 10 militants in the camp and surrounding areas and arrested eight suspects. It was announced that nine officers and soldiers were injured.
At least 469 Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank have been killed by Israeli shelling since October, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, the ministry said an ambulance driver was shot dead while trying to rescue a Palestinian injured in a clash with Israeli settlers near the town of Sawiya. The Palestinian Red Crescent said Moussa was shot in the chest.a waves of settler attacks The case began a week ago when an Israeli teenager went missing and was found dead.
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Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Jack Jeffrey in Jerusalem contributed.
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