-
A Gaza official says at least 21 people have been killed and dozens injured on Tuesday, when strikes hit an area of tents housing displaced people in Al-Mawasi, a coastal area in southern Gaza where Israel has designated a humanitarian safe zone, not far from the city of Rafah. The Israeli army immediately denied carrying out attacks inside the area. Videos verified by the New York Times show several people dead and injured in a farming region near the area where people were living in tents. Gaza civil defense official Dr Mohammed Al Moghayer said most of the dead and wounded were taken to nearby field hospitals, and others to a hospital in the town of Khan Younis. The Times verified the location of the videos by comparing footage of the aftermath with satellite images of the area, but could not verify whether an Israeli airstrike caused the damage.
-
Around a million people have fled Rafah according to the United Nations, amid the Israeli assault on the city in southern Gaza. The evacuation from Rafah, once the main destination for people leaving other parts of the enclave, is the latest in a series of displacements since Israel launched a war to dismantle Hamas, the armed group that led the deadly attack against Israel on October 7.
-
China has joined a chorus of international voices in expressing “serious concern” about the Israeli army's actions in Rafah, citing an International Court of Justice order last week that appeared to call on Israel to halt its military offensive there. China “opposes any violation of international law” and “strongly urges Israel to listen to the voice of the international community and stop attacking Rafah,” said Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
-
A member of the Egyptian security forces was killed near the Rafah border with the Gaza Strip and an investigation is underway, an Egyptian army spokesman said Monday, after the Israeli army reported a shooting at the border. Al Qahera News, Egypt's state television station, quoted an unnamed security official as saying that there appeared to have been an exchange of gunfire between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters and that the ensuing battle resulted in the death of the soldier. The Times could not independently verify the circumstances of the shooting.