Dozens reported killed in fresh Israeli attacks on Rafah
Palestinian medics on Tuesday said dozens of people have died in fresh Israeli attacks on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, two days after 45 people were reportedly killed in an airstrike which sparked international condemnation.
The Israeli military said it was investigating reports of an attack on a shelter for displaced persons in western Rafah. Hamas authorities said the attack featured at least four grenades, with unconfirmed estimates putting the death toll at more than 20.
Earlier on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Hamas-run health authority in Gaza said a further 18 people were killed overnight in separate Israeli attacks in Rafah. The information could not be independently verified.
Eyewitness reports from Rafah on Tuesday suggested the Israeli army has advanced into the city centre. The Israeli news website ynet reported that Israeli tanks were deployed in the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood, which was hit by the airstrike on Sunday.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that troops were still being deployed around Rafah and were endeavouring to prevent harm to innocent bystanders.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said around 1 million people have fled Rafah since Israel launched its latest offensive three weeks ago.
The aid organization said on the social media platform X that the displaced people had "nowhere safe to go amidst bombardments, lack of food and water, piles of waste and unsuitable living conditions." It said "providing assistance and protection becomes nearly impossible."
The latest attacks come in the wake of a ruling last week by the UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Israel to end the operation in Rafah immediately. Israel has so far refused to obey the ruling.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said Israel was investigating Sunday's airstrike, which provoked outrage from neighbouring Arab countries and Israel's Western allies. The IDF previously said two senior officials of the Palestinian militant group Hamas were killed in the bombing.
According to the Hamas-run health authority, at least 36,096 people have been killed and more than 81,000 injured since the beginning of the current conflict in Gaza, which was triggered by the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
The war has repeatedly threatened to escalate into a broader Middle Eastern conflict.
Pro-Iranian militias in Iraq on Monday reportedly attacked the port city of Eilat in southern Israel with drones.
Islamic Resistance in Iraq - an umbrella group for pro-Iranian militias in Iraq - said early on Tuesday that it had attacked military targets in the area with three drones.
The Israeli army said that it had intercepted two enemy objects in the area around Eilat. No casualties were reported.
