At least 10 people, including six children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, hospital authorities said, as Israel continued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Funerals were held on Saturday for those killed in a deadly attack in the Tal al-Sultan area west of Rafah the night before, Gaza's civil defense authorities said.
At Al-Najjar Hospital, the region's main mortuary, relatives sobbed and hugged the bodies of children draped in white cloths. “My dear Hamza, your hair is so beautiful,” said the grieving grandmother.
His brother-in-law, Ahmed Barhoum, said the dead included Abdelfattah Sobhi Radwan, his wife Najullah Ahmed Aweida, and their three children. Barhoum is survived by his wife Lawan Radwan and five-year-old daughter Alaa.
“This is a world completely devoid of human values and morals,” Barhoum told The Associated Press, crying as she gently rocked Alaa's body.
“They bombed houses full of displaced persons, women and children. The only martyrs were women and children.”
Reporting from Rafah, Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud said the sight of bodies being transferred from Al Najjar Hospital to their final burial was heartbreaking.
“Most of them were children, wrapped in white sheets soaked with blood…We spoke to doctors at the hospital.” [where the children were brought] “They described them as having catastrophic wounds covered in blood,” he said.
“Their burns were so severe that even if they had made it to the hospital alive, they would have died immediately. Given the current situation, there is no way such injuries could be treated immediately. ”
Al Jazeera reporters said Israeli forces continued their attacks on the city on Saturday. “The fighting has not slowed down yet,” said correspondent Tarek Abu Azizm.
“There is no plan for food, water or public services.”
Israel has promised a major invasion of Rafah, which is home to more than half of the Gaza Strip's roughly 2.3 million people and is the only area so far spared by Israeli ground forces. be.
US and Israeli officials held a high-level “virtual meeting” on Thursday to discuss the Rafah invasion, according to Gaza's two war monitors, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP).
Israel has shared plans with the United States to evacuate around 1.4 million Palestinian civilians from Rafah ahead of a promised ground invasion, according to a US-based think tank. However, the plan did not include “concepts regarding access to food, water, and other public services,” the report said.
Al Jazeera's Abu Aziz said that Rafah has seen a surge in Israeli military attacks in the past few weeks, and these attacks could lead to further military incursions, especially given that Israel is mobilizing troops near the capital. He said it could be seen as a sign that something might happen. border with Rafah.
“We are currently in central Rafah and we can clearly see at least four Israeli military surveillance drones hovering at very low altitudes over Kuwait hospitals,” he said. Stated.
“Different areas have been attacked in Rafah… One of the latest attacks targeted a vacant building on the west side of a densely populated area.”
In addition, there were also Israeli attacks on Saturday in other areas of the Gaza Strip, including Jabalia, Nuseyrat, Maghazi and Breiji refugee camps, the correspondent said.
Israel's war in Gaza since October 7 has left more than 34,000 people dead and more than 76,900 injured.