Bloody night: Israeli airstrike on Rafah kills dozens of Palestinians

Shafaq News / Early Monday morning, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that several Palestinians were killed and others injured in an Israeli airstrike on a house west of Rafah City.

According to WAFA, three Palestinians were killed and several others injured when an Israeli warplane bombed the home of the Dehliz family near Badr Junction in western Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.

In Gaza City, an Israeli missile strike on the home of the Batran family in the Zarqa area, resulted in numerous casualties, with victims transported to Al-Mamdani Hospital in the city.

Israeli artillery also targeted areas east of Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

Furthermore, the Gaza Government Information Office reported that 190 Palestinians were killed or injured due to Israeli airstrikes on shelters within the past 24 hours. The statement noted that more than 10 displacement centers were bombed in this period, culminating in a massacre at the Burksat center in northwestern Rafah, which claimed over 40 lives.

The Information Office emphasized that the Israeli army had previously designated these areas as safe zones and directed civilians and displaced persons to them, only to subsequently target them.

The office confirmed that the Israeli bombings resulted in dozens of severe injuries, with the death toll from this massacre likely to rise.

The Information Office called on the International Criminal Court, international courts, independent judges worldwide, and all human rights and legal organizations to prosecute the "war criminals of the Israeli occupation," as well as those in the American and German governments.

Hamas condemned the killing of over 40 Palestinians in the bombing of an UNRWA shelter in western Rafah, holding the US government and President Biden personally responsible for the "massacre" due to their support and authorization for Israel's invasion of Rafah, despite its dense population of displaced citizens.

The Israeli army confirmed, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, that it had conducted a raid in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, but details of the attack are still under review.

This attack marks the 233rd day of ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza, exacerbating severe shortages of food, water, medicine, and fuel. The number of operational hospitals and medical centers continues to dwindle.

The Israeli offensive has so far resulted in approximately 36,000 deaths and over 80,000 injuries, primarily among children and women, with more than 7,000 people still missing beneath the rubble caused by continuous bombing across the Gaza Strip.

All regions of Gaza face a severe crisis in water and food due to the destruction of infrastructure and water desalination plants by the Israeli army. The United Nations has warned of the dire consequences of the hunger crisis gripping Gaza’s population amid the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel.

Since the devastating conflict began on October 7, the Israeli army has enforced a strict blockade on Gaza, cutting off supplies of water, food, medicine, electricity, and fuel to the region's 2.3 million residents, who were already enduring extremely poor conditions.