IDF 'Reviews' Reports Of Mass Casualties In Overnight Rafah Strike

By i24
Posted on 05/27/24 | News Source: i24

As the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said that an overnight Israeli airstrike in Rafah killed at least 35 people, mostly women and children, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Monday stated that the "intelligence-based strike" targeted and killed two senior Hamas officials. The statement read that the military "is aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited several civilians in the area were harmed" and "the incident is under review."

The attack took place in Tal as Sultan in northwest Rafah - the area designated for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) displaced Palestinians' tent camp. Footage from the scene showed fire and wreckage.

The IDF reported killing Yassin Rabia who is said to have managed all Hamas' operations in the West Bank, transferred the group's funds and planned attacks across the West Bank. According to the Israeli military, Rabia carried out numerous deadly attacks, including the ones in 2001 and 2002 that killed the IDF soldiers.

Khaled Nagar, another senior Hamas official in the West Bank headquarters killed in the strike, "directed shooting attacks and other terrorist activities" in the West Bank and "transferred funds intended for Hamas’ terrorist activities in the Gaza Strip," read the IDF statement. The Israeli military accused Nagar of participating in several terrorist attacks between 2001-2003 that killed several civilians and wounded the IDF troops.

Pro-Palestinian groups have accused the IDF of a massacre, emphasizing that the death toll keeps on rising.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) denounced the strike as a “heinous massacre.”

The strike comes days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to halt the military offensive in Rafah. Following the incident, fighting in Gaza continued.