At least 35 dead in Israeli airstrike on displaced persons camp in Rafah, health ministry says, hours after Hamas rockets fired into Israel

Palestinian doctors told The Associated Press on Sunday that 22 people were killed in a Israeli airstrike in Rafah town, southern Gaza who hit the tents of displaced people. The reported airstrike came hours after Hamas claimed to have fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza into central Israel as rocket sirens sounded for the first time in months in cities including Tel Aviv.

Gaza’s health ministry said in a statement that 35 people were killed and dozens injured, mainly women and children. In light of the attack, the statement said “the Ministry of Health confirms that never before in history have such a large number of tools of mass destruction been assembled and used together in front of the world as this is currently the case in Gaza”, noting the serious shortages of water, food, medicine, electricity and fuel.

Eyewitnesses told the CBS News team in Gaza that eight airstrikes hit tents in western Rafah., although the reports could not be independently confirmed. According to eyewitnesses, the victims, including civilians, were rushed to the Emirati hospital. The tents were part of a camp located about 200 meters (about 650 feet) from the largest United Nations warehouse in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army acknowledged the strike in a statement Sunday evening.

“A short time ago, an IDF plane struck a Hamas compound in Rafah where major Hamas terrorists were operating,” the Israeli military said. “The strike was carried out against legitimate targets under international law, using specific munitions and based on specific intelligence indicating that Hamas was using the area. The Israeli military is aware of reports indicating that as a result As a result of the strike and the fire that broke out, several civilians in the area were injured. The incident is currently being investigated.

Images from the scene showed extensive destruction, and a spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the death toll was likely to rise as search and rescue efforts continued in the neighborhood. Tal al-Sultan of Rafah, west of the city center.

The company claimed the location had been designated by Israel as a “humanitarian zone.”

The strike comes two days later the International Court of Justice ordered Israel put an end to its military offensive in Rafah.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was in Rafah on Sunday and was briefed on “deepening operations” there, his office said.

The airstrike was reported hours after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza that set off air raid sirens as far away as Tel Aviv for the first time in months, demonstrating its resilience more than seven months after the Israel’s massive air, sea and land offensive. .

Hamas’ military wing said the attack and rocket fire could be heard in central Gaza, the AP reported.

In a statement posted on its Telegram channel on Sunday, the al-Qassam Brigades said the rockets were launched in response to what it called “Zionist massacres against civilians”, Reuters reported.

The Israeli military said its air defenses intercepted several projectiles after eight rockets were launched from Rafah in the Gaza Strip towards Israel.

Militants have fired projectiles at communities around Gaza during the war, but have not fired longer-range rockets in months.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from what appeared to be the first long-range rocket attack from Gaza since January, the Associated Press reported.

The escalation came hours after aid trucks entered Gaza from southern Israel under a new deal to bypass the Rafah crossing with Egypt. Israeli forces captured the southern town of Rafah earlier this month. It was unclear whether humanitarian groups would be able to access aid due to ongoing fighting in the region.

Egypt refuses to reopen its side of the Rafah crossing until control of the Gaza side is returned to the Palestinians. He agreed to temporarily divert traffic through Israel’s Kerem Shalom Terminal, Gaza’s main cargo terminal, after a call between US President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

The war between Israel and Hamas, now in its eighth month, has killed nearly 36,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. About 80 percent of the 2.3 million people have fled their homes, famine is widespread and U.N. officials say parts of the territory are experiencing famine.

Hamas started the war with its October 7 attack on Israel, in which its militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and captured some 250 hostages. Hamas still holds around 100 hostages and the remains of around 30 others after most of the others were freed in a ceasefire last year.

SATURDAY, CBS News reported that U.S. diplomatic efforts Efforts to broker a deal to free hostages held in Gaza by Hamas are expected to continue over the coming week. Negotiators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States will participate in the negotiations.

“There is progress,” a senior Biden administration official told CBS News. “Contacts are ongoing and we are working closely with the Egyptian and Qatari mediators. These contacts will continue over the coming week as we seek to advance the negotiation process.”