Bodies littered the road after Israeli forces attacked a home in the city that was crowded with displaced Palestinians.
February 24, 2024.
At least seven people, including a child, have been killed in the latest deadly assault by Israeli forces in Rafah on Palestinians struggling to survive in the largest city in the southern Gaza Strip.
On Saturday, Israeli airstrikes hit a residential building of the Shaheen family, which is inhabited by displaced people from the Abu Hamra and Abu Sultan families, the Palestinian state news agency Wafa reported.
According to Al Jazeera's team in Rafah, the airstrike hit a busy road leading to the market, causing severe damage to buildings and cars. The roads were littered with corpses, among which were women, children and the elderly.
My mother ......My father ......They fled for their lives from Khan Younis," a man told Al Jazeera. "I brought them here to take refuge in my house......They escaped Khan Younis' death, and they died at my ...... handsHow am I going to live after them?
He said to the Israeli army: "Kill me so I can join them." ”
Another man told Al Jazeera that he was on his way to Oda Hospital with his friends when suddenly there was a "mass **" I was thrown into the air and saw everyone around me flying and others being torn to shreds, I passed out and woke up to find myself in the hospital. Israeli warplanes fired a missile at a residential building in a crowded area; Hundreds of people walked down the streets, trying to get some food. The Israeli occupying forces show no mercy; They have no mercy for the young or the old, the women or the babies,he added. "Israelis do not respect any law or human rights. They have lost their humanity; targeting innocently displaced civilians; Killing of all people, including women and children, in retaliation. The missile hit me 20 meters [66 feet] away, and thanks to God's grace, I miraculously survived. ”
Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud reported from Rafah that the victim had been taken to Yusuf al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah.
According to the journalist, the area shook as if it had happened; There was complete destruction and fires everywhere, cars were burned, people on the sidewalks were seriously injured. The victims were also rescued from under the rubble of the building, seven people were reported dead, five of whom have been identified. Two of the bodies have been incinerated and unrecognizable. ”
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the Israeli army has carried out eight "home-targeted attacks" in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, killing 92 people.
The journalist added that the Israeli army has prevented ambulances and civil protection personnel from assisting victims buried under the rubble and lying on the road.
Since the October 7 Hamas cross-border attack, Israel has carried out strikes on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 29,600 Palestinians and causing massive destruction and shortages of essential goods. Nearly 70,000 people have been injured in the besieged enclave.
About 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in Hamas attacks.
According to the United Nations, severe food insecurity across the Gaza Strip has reached catastrophic proportions, with increasing reports of families struggling to feed their children and a growing risk of starvation-related deaths in the northern Gaza Strip.
"The risk of famine in Gaza is increasing day by day, especially in northern Gaza, where an estimated 300,000 people are largely unable to receive assistance, and where food security assessments indicate greatest needs," the WFP said. ”
With more and more Palestinians killed every day of Israel's war on Gaza, negotiations for a ceasefire agreement continue.
Israel's wartime cabinet is scheduled to meet on Saturday to hear briefings from negotiators in Paris who are in talks with representatives of the United States, Israel, Egypt and Qatar about a possible truce, according to advisers to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Tzachi Hanegbi told Israel Channel 12 that the cabinet meeting "showed that they (negotiators) did not return empty-handed."
Earlier on Saturday it was reported that the Paris meeting had agreed on a draft new exclusive deal.
Sources told Axios that the updated outline recommends that Hamas release about 40 prisoners held in Gaza in exchange for a six-week ceasefire and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
* Intelligence Director Bill Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdelrahman Al-Thani, and Egypt's Intelligence Director Abbas Kamal participated in the talks.
The Israeli delegation included the heads of Mossad, Simbert and Israeli army intelligence, who would brief the wartime cabinet later on Saturday or Sunday.
If the Cabinet approves the new proposal, a follow-up meeting will be held in the coming days.
Axios reported that Biden *** said they want to try to reach a deal before the start of Ramadan on March 10.
Further details of the talks, such as the number and status of the released prisoners, still depend on whether Qatari and Egyptian negotiators also agree to Hamas's new proposal, according to sources cited by Israel**.
A foreign diplomat told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that "negotiations are progressing" and that "all parties have shown flexibility to reach an agreement before Ramadan, and any further progress is up to Hamas".