More than 100 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza, the humanitarian organization Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported on Monday morning (12).
A CNN cannot independently verify the numbers.
The city, near Gaza's border with Egypt and where more than half of Gaza's population seeks refuge, has come under “intense attacks” from warplanes and airstrikes, the PRCS said.
Helicopters also fired machine guns along the border regions, according to the organization.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Monday that it had conducted “a series of attacks” against targets in the Shaboura area, a district of Rafah, saying in a statement that “the attacks have been completed.”
According to the IDF, two hostages were rescued: Fernando Simon Marman, 60 years old; and Louis Har, 70. The two were kidnapped on October 7 by Hamas.
The Argentine government thanked the rescue, stating that the hostages have dual Israeli-Argentine citizenship.
“Both are in good medical condition and have been transferred for medical examinations at Sheba Tel Hashomer hospital,” the statement said.
IDF spokesman Danial Hagari told reporters that the operation to rescue the hostages began at around 01:49 local time, with the airstrikes on Rafah being launched a minute later.
A mosque in Shaboura was among the targets of Israeli attacks, according to Rafah city hall.
The Hamas-run Al-Aqsa television channel reported that two mosques were attacked, as well as 14 homes in various areas of Rafah, on Monday.
The director of Abu Yousef Al-Najjar Hospital said medical facilities in Rafah “cannot cope with the large number of injured due to shelling by the Israeli occupation.”
Images obtained by CNN showed doctors trying to resuscitate a child in Rafah's Al Kuwaiti hospital, while another group treated an injured man on the hospital floor.
In another video, a woman held the body of a child wrapped in a white cloth.
According to the PRCS, people are trapped under the rubble and there is still a strong presence of warplanes in the skies over Rafah, which could further increase the death toll.
In a statement released on Monday, Hamas condemned what it considered to be a “horrible massacre” perpetrated by Israel against civilians in Rafah.
More than 1.3 million people have taken refuge in Rafah, many of whom were already displaced from other parts of the enclave and say they have nowhere to go.
Source: CNN Brasil
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