Airstrike on Rafah reportedly kills 22 after Hamas launches rockets at Tel Aviv - Sky News

An Israeli airstrike on Rafah has killed 22 people, local medics say, after Hamas launched rocket attacks towards Tel Aviv for the first time in months.

The strike in on the southern Gaza city hit tents for displaced people, according to Palestinian medics. Footage from the scene shows heavy destruction.

The initial report coming out of the territory said 22 people had been killed. A second report said that the dead and wounded numbered "dozens".

A spokesperson with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the death toll was likely to increase as search and rescue efforts continued in Rafah's Tal al Sultan neighbourhood west of the city centre.

The society said the location had been designated by Israel as a "humanitarian area."

There was no immediate comment from the IDF.

On Friday, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt its Rafah offensive, with Israel insisting it is key to its self-defence and goal of destroying Hamas entirely.

Hamas fires rockets towards Tel Aviv

The strike on Rafah comes after Hamas launched rocket attacks from Gaza towards Tel Aviv earlier on Sunday.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in what appeared to be the first long-range rocket attack from Gaza since January, although Palestinian militants have continued to sporadically fire rockets and mortar rounds at communities along the Gaza border since then.

Hamas's military wing claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Israeli military said eight projectiles crossed into Israel after being launched from the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where Israeli forces recently launched an incursion.

Israel's Iron Dome defence system intercepted several of the missiles, it added.

Image: Aid trucks enter Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel on Sunday. Pic: AP

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Earlier on Sunday, aid trucks entered Gaza via Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing for the first time since a new aid agreement was struck.

Aid routes were rediverted after Egypt closed its side of the Rafah crossing over Israel's decision to seize control of the Gaza side.

Hamas rockets will encourage Israel to keep fighting

Hamas still fires rockets into Israel, almost daily, but they are largely short-range and aimed at the border communities.

The 10 missiles that were fired from Rafah towards northern Tel Aviv on Sunday afternoon show that the group still has the capability to strike at longer range, despite almost eight months of fighting.

It will also serve as proof for Israel that it must continue fighting in Rafah if it is to successfully eliminate Hamas.

To halt operations there now, as the International Court of Justice ordered it do on Friday, would leave Hamas infrastructure intact and deny Israel a chance to claim victory.

This conundrum is why Washington pushed Israel so hard to consider a different approach for Rafah - one that would mean it could continue fighting Hamas but with reduced impact on civilians and limited international outrage.

Israel largely ignored its ally and ploughed on regardless, South Africa took the issue to the ICJ again and the court ordered a halt. No doubt some in Washington have been thinking "we told you so".

It now remains to be seen whether Israel abides by this or defiantly keeps on fighting. The rockets fired at Israel on Sunday will encourage the latter.

It is unclear whether humanitarian groups will be able to access incoming aid because of ongoing fighting in Rafah, however.

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Israeli protests over hostages

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing growing pressure to make a deal with Hamas to free its remaining hostages after several bodies were recovered recently.

There were large protests in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, with scuffles breaking out between protesters and police.

Image: A placard showing an Israeli hostage during protests inTel Aviv on Saturday. Pic: Reuters

Image: Police and protesters in Tel Aviv on Saturday night. Pic: Reuters

Now in its eighth month, the Israel-Hamas war has killed almost 36,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

The vast majority of Gaza's two million-strong population has been displaced.

Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October last year killed 1,200 people, with militants taking some 250 hostages, around 100 of whom remain in captivity in Gaza.

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2024-05-26 18:33:45Z
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