Rafah offensive

Worldwide horror: Israel continues bombing

Rising smoke after the bombardment of Rafah

(Bild: APA/AFP/Eyad BABA)

Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the airstrike on a tent camp with Palestinian refugees near the city of Rafah as a "tragic mistake", the offensive is continuing despite worldwide outrage. According to eyewitnesses, Israeli tanks advanced into the center of the embattled city on the border with Egypt on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Israeli army is investigating why the devastating fire occurred after the attack. A weapons depot is suspected to have been hit.

Several tanks were spotted near the Al-Awda mosque, a landmark in the city center. The city came under fire again from tanks and also from air strikes. The Israeli military has not yet commented on the situation and announced that it would issue a statement on the operation in Rafah at a later date. 

Area around tent camp also bombed again
Even the area around the Tel Al-Sultan district, where Palestinians say at least 45 people were killed in a tent camp for war refugees in the Israeli airstrike on Sunday, is still being bombed, residents reported. "Tank shells are hitting everywhere in Tel Al-Sultan. Many families have fled their homes in western Rafah, which have been shelled all night," one resident told Reuters via a chat app.

The Israeli army emphasized that they had "hit a Hamas complex in Rafah" in which "important Hamas terrorists were active". It is unclear whether terrorists were among the dozens killed. However, they also included residents of a refugee camp - including children.

(Bild: APA/AP)

At least 16 Palestinians were killed in attacks on Tuesday night, according to officials in the Palestinian area controlled by the militant, radical Islamic Hamas. Residents reported that Israeli tanks had taken up positions on and around the Surub hilltop, a hill overlooking western Rafah. However, this information could not be independently verified.

Israel's army announced on Tuesday evening that, contrary to reports, it had not attacked in the designated al-Mawassi humanitarian zone. The organization Doctors Without Borders announced that a camp for displaced persons in a zone declared as safe had been hit during the attack on Sunday evening. The Israeli army rejected this as "lies and disinformation by Hamas". The attack, which targeted two senior Hamas members, was not aimed at a humanitarian zone.

Residents of the camp inspect their destroyed shelters.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Eyad BABA)

Israel investigates cause of fire in refugee camp
"The incident occurred in Tal al-Sultan in an area more than one kilometer away from the humanitarian safe zone," a military spokesperson said on Tuesday. The army had filmed the area before the attack to ensure there were no civilians nearby, he said. The military also said on Tuesday that the scale of the deadly airstrike was due to a fire that broke out at a nearby facility. The army is also investigating whether weapons were stored there that exploded and caught fire during the attack. A Hamas facility was attacked.

Rafah as Hamas' last bastion
Previously, more than one million Palestinians had sought refuge in the city from the fighting in the rest of the Gaza Strip. Israel has continued the attacks despite a ruling by the UN Supreme Court on Friday, arguing that the court's decision provides leeway for military action in Rafah. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) had ordered Israel on Friday to immediately halt the controversial offensive in Rafah due to the catastrophic humanitarian situation. The Israeli army had launched a long-threatened ground offensive on Rafah at the beginning of the month. The city is considered the last bastion of Hamas, which triggered the Gaza war with its attack on Israel on October 7.