GAUZE: Israel has stepped up its bombardment of Rafah in southern Gaza, killing more than a dozen members of one family in an airstrike, residents said, as the death toll in the devastated Palestinian enclave reached 29,313 since October 7 last year.
In Jerusalem, Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz cited “promising first signs of progress” in a new deal to release hostages held by Hamas resistance fighters in Gaza amid talks led by the United States, Egypt and Qatar to secure a pause in the war.
The Israeli military (IDF) said it had stepped up operations in Khan Younis, a town north of Rafah. She did not mention the attacks on Rafah itself in her daily summary of events in Gaza and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
About 1.5 million people are estimated to be crammed into Rafah, on the southernmost edge of the enclave near the border with Egypt, most of whom have fled their homes further north to escape the Israeli military onslaught.
The flow of aid entering Gaza from Egypt has almost dried up in the past two weeks, and the collapse of security has made it increasingly difficult to distribute the food that does get there, according to UN figures and UN officials.
Israel has said it is preparing for a ground attack on Rafah, despite growing international opposition, including from staunch ally the United States, over fears for civilian lives.
Residents of Rafah reached via text message reported several Israeli airstrikes and large explosions in the city, as well as naval ships opening fire on beach areas.
Video journalists from Reuters captured the aftermath of the strike on the Al-Noor family home in Rafah, which was reduced to rubble, showing more than a dozen bodies wrapped in white or black shrouds and surviving relatives in a Rafah hospital.
Abdulrahman Juma said his wife Noor, who was from the Al-Noor family, as well as his one-year-old daughter Kinza, were both killed in the strike, along with Noor’s parents, brother and other relatives.
Juma held Kinzo’s body wrapped in a bloodied white shroud. “The one that’s on my lap took my soul… She’s one and a half years old,” he said.
Israel continues to claim that Hamas fighters are using civilian buildings as shelters, despite repeated denials by the group.
Local residents also said Israeli tanks were advancing west from Khan Younis to Al-Mawasi, previously an area of relative safety where the army had told Palestinians to seek cover.
The tanks reached the coastal road, effectively cutting off Khan Younis and Rafah from the rest of the Gaza Strip, although they retreated after several hours, according to residents.
Gaza’s health ministry said on Wednesday that 69,333 people had been injured in Gaza since the war began on October 7, in addition to 29,313 dead, with 118 killed in the past 24 hours.
