Images of two Israeli tanks stationed on a hilltop overlooking the coastal area went viral on social media, but Reuters could not independently verify them.
“The fighting with the resistance has been intense. The occupation forces are overlooking the Mawasi area now, which forced families there to head for Khan Younis,” said one resident, who asked not to be named, on a chat app.
More than eight months into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, its advance is focused on the two areas its forces have yet to seize: Rafah on Gaza’s southern tip and the area surrounding Deir al-Balah in the center.
Residents said Israeli tanks had pushed deeper into western and northern Rafah in recent days, blowing up dozens of houses.
The Israeli military claims it was continuing “intelligence-based, targeted operations” in the Rafah area and had located weapons stores and tunnel shafts, and killed Palestinian resistance members.
Meanwhile, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said their members had attacked Israeli forces in Rafah with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs and pre-planted explosive devices.
Elsewhere, an Israeli airstrike killed eight Palestinians in Sabra, a suburb of Gaza City in the north, and another strike killed two people in Nuseirat in central Gaza on Sunday.
The military said it had struck dozens of targets throughout the Strip.
On Saturday, at least 42 people were killed in Israeli attacks on districts of Gaza City in the north of the Palestinian enclave, the director of the Gazan media office said.
One Israeli strike on houses in al-Shati, one of the Gaza Strip’s eight historic refugee camps, killed 24 people, Ismail al-Thawabta told Reuters. Another 18 Palestinians were killed in a strike on houses in the al-Tuffah neighborhood.
The Israeli military claimed its fighter jets struck two Hamas military infrastructure sites in the area of Gaza City. It said more details would be released soon.
Hamas did not comment on the Israeli claim to have hit its military infrastructure. It said in a statement the attacks targeted the civilian population and vowed in a statement “the occupation and its Nazi leaders will pay the price for their violations against our people.”
Footage obtained by Reuters showed dozens of Palestinians rushing out to search for victims amid the destroyed houses. The footage showed wrecked homes, blasted walls, and debris and dust filling the street in Shati refugee camp.
The conflict was triggered by the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion of southern Israel, causing the death of around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Gaza toll nears 37,600
Israel’s genocidal war in response has killed at least 37,598 people since, of whom 42 were killed in the past 24 hours, according to Palestinian health authorities Sunday.
A ministry statement added that 86,032 other people have also been injured in the onslaught.
“Israeli attacks killed 47 people and injured 121 others in the last 24 hours,” the statement said.
“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
in Gaza City, Palestine, June 22, 2024. (Reuters Photo)
Flouting a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnations amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
More than eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.