Israeli Strike in Rafah Kills 45 Amid Calls for Humanitarian Cease-fire
At least 45 Palestinians were killed and 60 more wounded in a targeted Israeli air strike on a Hamas compound in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, according to Palestinian health officials and civil emergency services. The Israeli military stated that the attack, carried out with “precise ammunition based on precise intelligence,” resulted in the deaths of Hamas’ chief of staff for the West Bank and another senior official linked to deadly attacks on Israelis.
The strike occurred in the Tel Al-Sultan neighborhood, a designated shelter area for thousands displaced by a recent Israeli ground offensive. Ashraf Al-Qidra, a spokesman for the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, reported a significant number of casualties, including women and children, being treated at local hospitals. The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed an influx of casualties to its field hospital in Rafah, as well as to other medical facilities.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, condemned the attack as a “massacre” and criticized the United States for its support of Israel. Eyewitness accounts described severe damage to the area, with one resident recounting how “the air strikes burnt the tents, the tents are melting, and the people’s bodies are also melting.”
The attack follows an earlier Israeli military statement that eight projectiles had been fired from Rafah, though they were intercepted with no reported casualties. This ongoing military action comes despite a ruling by the top UN court on Friday, which ordered a cessation of attacks on the city, a mandate that Israel argues permits limited military operations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with his war cabinet to discuss ongoing operations in Rafah. Meanwhile, on the ground, Israeli tanks have been reported near the city’s outskirts, with no full entry into the city since the start of the offensive earlier this month.
