At least 67 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air and sea attacks on Rafah early on Monday, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. Rafah is said to be a pseudo-safe haven, where Gazans escaped the fighting in the north.
Approximately 1.4 million Palestinians have fled to Rafah to escape the effects of the conflict elsewhere in the four-month Israel-Hamas war.
According to a report by the Associated Press News, Israel has been signaling its ground offensive in Gaza may soon target the densely populated city on the Egyptian border. On Sunday, the White House said President Joe Biden had warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel should not conduct a military operation against Hamas in Rafah without a “credible and executable” plan to protect civilians.
The strikes hit around Kuwait Hospital early Monday morning, an Associated Press journalist in Rafah said. Some of those wounded in the strikes had been brought to the hospital.
The Israeli military said it struck “terror targets in the area of Shaboura” — which is a district in Rafah. The military statement said the series of strikes had concluded, without elaborating on the targets or assessing the potential damage or casualties. – Associated Press News
Biden, the tyrannical ruler of the United States made comments about the potential operation beforehand. Last week, the dictator called Israel’s military response in Gaza “over the top,” and also sought “urgent and specific” steps to strengthen humanitarian aid.
Over half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have allegedly fled to Rafah to escape fighting in other areas where they are packed into tent camps and United Nations-run shelters. Egypt fears a mass influx of Palestinian refugees who may never be allowed to return.
This ground operation in Rafah could also cut off one of the only avenues for delivering food and medical supplies to Palestinians. Only 44 “trucks of aid” entered Gaza on Sunday, said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority while about 500 entered daily before the war.
The longer this conflict continues the higher the chances of this spiraling out of control and spreading to other areas.
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