RAFAH: The Gaza health ministry on early Monday said that at least 40 people were killed and dozens injured in an Israeli strike on a center for displaced people near the Rafah city of the besieged Palestinian territory.
Israel’s army confirmed it had conducted an air strike on a compound of Hamas in the city and said it was aware of the reports of civilian harm in the incident.
The Gazan ministry in a statement said that Israeli strikes claimed the lives of 40 Palestinians and left dozens injured, most of them children and women.
Israel’s army said its fighter jet targeted a Hamas compound in Rafah in which significant Hamas members were operating.
“The strike was carried out against legitimate targets under international law, through the use of precise munitions and on the basis of precise intelligence that indicated Hamas’s use of the area,” it added.
It added the Israeli army is aware of reports suggesting several civilians were harmed in the strike adding the incident is under review.
Israeli forces commit horrific massacre
The Hamas-run government media office said the Israeli forces committed a horrific massacre by bombarding intentionally and intensively the UNRWA’s Barkasat displacement center northwest of Rafah Governorate.
The strikes led to the death of 35 and dozens of others wounded, it said, adding that Israeli forces had targeted the UNRWA center with seven missiles.
Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli strikes had killed and injured at least 50 people in the area, where it said 100,000 displaced people live.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said one of its field hospitals was receiving casualties seeking care for injuries and burns.
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Strikes were also reported in other areas of Rafah late Sunday, with the Kuwait Specialized Hospital saying it had received the bodies of three people, including a pregnant woman.
Israel started a ground operation on Rafah in early May despite strong opposition worldwide over concerns for civilians sheltering there.
Earlier on Sunday, Israel’s army stated at least eight rockets were fired toward the central areas of Rafah.
According to the Gaza health ministry at least 35,984 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and 80,643 injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since October 7.
