Another 18 people were killed in new Israeli attacks in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a spokesman for the territory’s Hamas-led health authority said on Tuesday.
The victims reportedly died overnight. The information could not be independently verified.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday that troops were still deployed around Rafah. Soldiers carried out “precise operations” near the border with Egypt based on intelligence information about terrorist targets, the IDF said.
“The troops are engaged in combat with terrorists and are identifying tunnel entrances, weapons and other terrorist infrastructure in the area,” the IDF added.
The IDF also said it was trying to prevent harm to innocent bystanders, two days after an Israeli airstrike in the area reportedly killed dozens.
The Hamas-led health authority said at least 45 people were killed and dozens injured on Sunday in Israel’s attack on a camp for displaced people, sparking international horror and outrage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel is investigating “an incident.” The IDF had earlier said that two senior officials of the Palestinian militant group Hamas were killed in the airstrike.
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.
