'Horrific massacre': Israel strikes in Rafah shelter kill 40 people
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Rafah: In a "massacre", Israel struck a location which hosted displaced people, killing at least 40 people and injuring scores of others. The victims and injured are mostly women and children, Agence France-Presse reported, citing Hamas-run health ministry.
Hamas's media office in Gaza earlier reported that the attack was on a centre run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees near Rafah. The media called it a "horrific massacre".
However, the Israeli army claimed that it was targeting Hamas operatives. It claimed that it struck a Hamas compound in Rafah and killed Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar, two senior leaders for Hamas in the occupied West Bank.
The army added that the attack had caused severe fire and harmed "several civilians" at the site, and the "incident is under review".
On Sunday, the army said that at least eight rockets were launched from Rafah toward Israel's central areas. Some of them even targeted the commercial hub of Tel Aviv for the first time in months.
In Gaza, fighting is mostly happening in Rafah, where the Israeli army launched a ground operation early this month. This was carried out, turning a blind eye to widespread opposition from the international community over concerns about the refugees who were displaced from other areas of Gaza and sheltered there.
Following the Rafah strikes, the Palestinian Red Crescent informed that its ambulances carried away a large number of people who were killed or injured. Accusing Israel of a "heinous massacre", the Palestinian Presidency in the West Bank said that the Israeli army is deliberately targeting shelters of displaced refugees, AFP reported.