Palestinian medics said on Tuesday that dozens of people were killed in new Israeli attacks on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, two days after 45 people were reported killed in an airstrike that sparked international condemnation.
The Israeli military said it is investigating reports of an attack on a shelter for displaced people in western Rafah. Hamas authorities said at least four grenades were involved in the attack, with unconfirmed estimates putting the death toll at more than 20.
Earlier on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Hamas-led health authority in Gaza said another 18 people were killed overnight in separate Israeli attacks in Rafah. The information could not be independently verified.
Eyewitness reports from Rafah suggested on Tuesday that the Israeli army had entered the city center. Israeli news website ynet reported that Israeli tanks had been deployed in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood, which was hit by Sunday’s airstrike.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said troops are still deployed around Rafah trying to prevent harm to innocent bystanders.
About 1 million people have fled Rafah since Israel launched its latest offensive three weeks ago, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The aid agency said on social media platform It said that “providing assistance and protection becomes almost impossible.”
The latest attacks come in the wake of a ruling last week by the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Israel to immediately end the Rafah operation. Israel has so far refused to obey the ruling.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel is investigating Sunday’s airstrike, which sparked outrage among Israel’s Arab neighbors and Western allies. The IDF said earlier that two senior officials of the Palestinian militant group Hamas were killed in the bombing.
At least 36,096 people have been killed and more than 81,000 injured since the start of the current conflict in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’ attacks on October 7, according to the Hamas-led health authority.
The war has repeatedly threatened to escalate into a broader conflict in the Middle East.
Pro-Iranian militias in Iraq reportedly attacked the port city of Eilat in southern Israel with drones on Monday.
Islamic Resistance in Iraq – an umbrella group for pro-Iranian militias in Iraq – said early on Tuesday that it had attacked military targets in the area with three drones.
The Israeli army said it had intercepted two enemy objects in the Eilat area. No casualties have been reported.
