GAZA CITY: Israel pressed its blistering assault in the besieged Gaza Strip on Saturday as fears grew of a push into Rafah, the southern city crowded with Palestinian civilians uprooted by the nearly four-month relentless Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks, AFP reported.
Israeli air strikes and tank fire targeted Khan Younis, the focal point of the offensive, with fears that the nearby city of Rafah may be the next target, AFP reported.
The health ministry in Gaza reported that over 100 people, mostly women and children, were killed overnight across the Palestinian territory in the latest wave of Israeli attacks. The city of Khan Younis, already heavily impacted by the Israeli offensive, witnessed a continuous barrage of Israeli military actions during the night.
Rafah, which has housed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the relentless Israeli attacks since October 7, is now home to more than half of Gaza’s 2.4 million population, according to the World Health Organization. The situation has created an overcrowded and dire living condition for the displaced Palestinian civilians, with tents cramming streets and parks.
Witnesses in Rafah reported 12 casualties in an Israeli airstrike on a house owned by the Hijazi family. Bilal Jad, a 45-year-old neighbor whose house was damaged in the attack, expressed the prevalent fear among civilians, stating, “There’s no safe place anywhere. The Israeli airstrikes are everywhere.”
Over 27,238 Palestinians Killed in Israeli Strikes in Gaza
Civilians who sought refuge in Rafah now find themselves pushed against the border with Egypt, attempting to avoid the areas exposed to Israeli strikes in nearby Khan Younis. The United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA voiced deep concern about the escalating Israeli aggression in Khan Younis, describing Rafah as a “pressure cooker of despair.”
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had previously warned of the military’s intentions to focus on Rafah. The conflict, which began on October 7, has resulted in a massive loss of life, with at least 27,238 people killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry. The ongoing fighting, combined with an Israeli siege, has led to severe shortages of essential resources such as food, water, fuel, and medicines, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the narrow coastal strip.
