Friday, November 22, 2024

Israel-Gaza war live: Aid groups ‘horrified’ by Israeli strike on camp housing displaced people in Rafah

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Aid groups react to strike of Rafah

Aid groups say they are “horrified” by an Israeli strike on tents housing displaced people in the southern city of Rafah that has left at least 35 people dead.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said dozens of dead and wounded were brought to a trauma stabilisation supported by the group.

The aid group said in a post on X:

We are horrified by this deadly event which shows once again that nowhere is safe

The Hamas-run government media office in Gaza earlier said the attack hit a centre run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees near Rafah, saying it was a “horrific massacre”.

Footage from the scene showed widespread destruction at the camp with a large fire overtaking the area. The Israeli military said its air force struck a Hamas compound and that the strike was carried out with “precise ammunition and on the basis of precise intelligence.”

Israel’s army said it has killed Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar, both senior officials for the Palestinian militant group in the occupied West Bank, reports Agence France-Presse.

It added that it was:

… aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited, several civilians in the area were harmed. The incident is under review.

Israel’s army said Sunday at least eight rockets were fired towards central areas of the country from Rafah, with strikes targeting the commercial hub of Tel Aviv for the first time in months.

Key events

The Palestinian Red Crescent said its ambulance crews transported “a large number” of people killed and injured in the Rafah strikes.

The group added that the location of the strike had been designated by Israel as a humanitarian area, adding “citizens were coerced into evacuating to it.”

A spokesperson said the death toll was likely to rise as search and rescue efforts continued in Rafah’s Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood about 2km (1.2 miles) north-west of the city centre.

“Currently, numerous individuals remain trapped under the flames and in the tents destroyed by the bombardment.”

Aid groups react to strike of Rafah

Aid groups say they are “horrified” by an Israeli strike on tents housing displaced people in the southern city of Rafah that has left at least 35 people dead.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said dozens of dead and wounded were brought to a trauma stabilisation supported by the group.

The aid group said in a post on X:

We are horrified by this deadly event which shows once again that nowhere is safe

The Hamas-run government media office in Gaza earlier said the attack hit a centre run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees near Rafah, saying it was a “horrific massacre”.

Footage from the scene showed widespread destruction at the camp with a large fire overtaking the area. The Israeli military said its air force struck a Hamas compound and that the strike was carried out with “precise ammunition and on the basis of precise intelligence.”

Israel’s army said it has killed Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar, both senior officials for the Palestinian militant group in the occupied West Bank, reports Agence France-Presse.

It added that it was:

… aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited, several civilians in the area were harmed. The incident is under review.

Israel’s army said Sunday at least eight rockets were fired towards central areas of the country from Rafah, with strikes targeting the commercial hub of Tel Aviv for the first time in months.

Welcome and opening summary

It’s 9:16am in Gaza and Tel Aviv, welcome to our latest live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and the wider Middle East crisis. I’m Reged Ahmad and I’ll be with you for the next while.

Aid groups say they are “horrified” by an Israeli strike on tents housing displaced people in the southern city of Rafah that has left at least 35 people dead.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said dozens of dead and wounded were brought to a trauma stabilisation supported by the group.

The aid group said in a statement:

We are horrified by this deadly event which shows once again that nowhere is safe

Footage from the scene showed a large fire in the area.

Israel’s army said its aircraft “struck a Hamas compound in Rafah“, killing Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar, both senior officials for the Palestinian militant group in the occupied West Bank, reports Agence France-Presse.

It added that it was:

… aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited, several civilians in the area were harmed. The incident is under review.

Israel’s army said Sunday at least eight rockets were fired towards central areas of the country from Rafah, with strikes targeting the commercial hub of Tel Aviv for the first time in months.

More on that in a moment but first, here’s a summary of the latest developments:

  • Seventy organisations have called on all relevant authorities and international institutions to officially declare a famine in the Gaza Strip, where there is a rapid spread of famine, according to the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor. It said that food insecurity is increasing across the enclave because of Israel’s use of starvation as a “weapon of war” against the Palestinian people – something the organisations say is part of a genocide. The organisation said food security levels have significantly declined due to the Israeli army’s offensive in Rafah which began in early May.

  • Hamas armed wing al-Qassam Brigades said it launched a “big missile” attack on Tel Aviv on Sunday as the Israeli military sounded sirens in the central city warning of possible incoming rockets. In a statement on its Telegram channel, al-Qassam Brigades said the rockets were launched in response to what it called “Zionist massacres against civilians”. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in what appeared to be the first long-range rocket attack from Gaza since January.

  • At least 35,984 Palestinian people have been killed and 80,643 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said in a statement.

  • Amnesty International on Monday urged the international criminal court to investigate as war crimes three recent Israeli strikes that killed 44 Palestinian civilians, including 32 children. Amnesty said three Israeli strikes – one on the al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza on 16 April, and two on Rafah in southern Gaza on 19 and 20 April – are “further evidence of a broader pattern of war crimes” committed by the Israeli military in Gaza, reports AFP.

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