Israel intensified its bombings against Rafah, in southern Gaza, and more than ten people from the same family were killed in an air strike, residents said, while the Ministry of Health in the ruined Palestinian enclave announced that there had been more than 29,300 deaths in the war so far. now.
In Jerusalem, Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz cited “promising early signs of progress” toward a new deal to free hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza, amid talks led by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar to secure a break in the war.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has stepped up its operations in Khan Younis, a town just north of Rafah. There were no mention of attacks on Rafah itself in its daily summary of events in Gaza and it did not respond to requests for comment at first.
It is estimated that around 1.5 million people are crammed into Rafah, at the southern tip of the Strip, close to the border with Egypt. Most of them fled their homes further north to escape Israel's military onslaught.
The flow of humanitarian aid from Egypt to Gaza has all but dried up over the past two weeks and a security collapse is making it increasingly difficult to distribute the food that does make it across the border, according to UN data and officials.
Israel said it was preparing a ground attack on Rafah, despite international opposition, including from the US, for fear of civilian deaths.
Rafah residents contacted via text messages reported several Israeli airstrikes and large explosions in the city, as well as ships opening fire in waterfront areas.
Reuters video journalists filmed the aftermath of the attack on the Al-Noor family home in Rafah, which was reduced to rubble, showing more than a dozen corpses wrapped in white or black shrouds and grieving relatives in a Rafah hospital.
Abdulrahman Juma said his wife Noor, who was from the Al-Noor family, and their one-year-old daughter Kinza were killed in the attack, along with Noor's parents, brother and other relatives.
Juma was holding Kinza's body, wrapped in a bloody white shroud. “This one, here in my lap, she took my soul away… She was a year and a half old,” she said.
Israel claims that Hamas militants use civilian buildings to protect themselves, which the Islamic group denies.
Gaza's Health Ministry said on Wednesday that 69,333 people have been injured in Gaza since the start of the war on October 7, in addition to 29,313 deaths, with 118 fatalities in the last 24 hours.
The war was sparked by Hamas militants who stormed Israel's southern border on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages, according to Israeli counts.
Source: CNN Brasil
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