Cairo – On Sunday, Hamas launched a significant rocket barrage targeting Tel Aviv, triggering air raid sirens in the city for the first time in four months. This aggressive move by the Palestinian militant group appears to be an effort to demonstrate their military capability amidst Israel’s continuing offensive in Gaza.
Simultaneously, Israeli air strikes in Rafah resulted in the deaths of at least five Palestinians. The strikes came as Israeli tanks encroached upon the city’s perimeter, near the primary southern crossing into Egypt. The Israeli military reported that eight projectiles were launched from the Rafah area, located approximately 100 kilometers south of Tel Aviv, where operations persist despite a United Nations court ruling demanding an immediate cessation of the offensive.
The ongoing conflict has led to a catastrophic human toll. Gaza’s health ministry reports nearly 36,000 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, have been killed since the offensive began. The latest escalation saw Gaza’s civil defense agency recovering six bodies from a house in Rafah’s eastern Khirbet al-Adas neighborhood. Witnesses reported Israeli artillery targeting Rafah’s central Yibna camp and heavy shelling hitting Sooq al-Halal and Qishta areas within the city.
Israeli airstrikes also struck the Nuseirat refugee camp, while witnesses noted substantial artillery shelling in northern Gaza. An AFP correspondent observed intense gunfire from Israeli tanks in Gaza City’s Zeitun and Netzarim areas. Further north, fighting continued in the Jabaliya region.
Israel justifies its actions by aiming to eradicate Hamas fighters in Rafah and rescue Israeli hostages reportedly held in the area. However, the assault has exacerbated the civilian crisis and provoked international condemnation.
Efforts to negotiate a ceasefire and secure the release of over 100 Israeli hostages held by Hamas have stalled for weeks. Recent meetings between Israeli and US intelligence officials, along with the Qatari prime minister, indicate potential progress. A source indicated that talks might resume this week, influenced by new proposals from Egyptian and Qatari mediators and active US participation. However, Hamas official Izzat El-Reshiq disputed this, stating no new dates for talks had been proposed and reiterated the group’s conditions for a complete and permanent cessation of aggression across all of Gaza, not just Rafah.
While Israel demands the return of its prisoners, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains resolute that the war will persist until Hamas is fully dismantled.
The dire situation in Gaza has prompted calls for increased humanitarian aid. After more than seven months of intense conflict, which has devastated the enclave and led to widespread hunger, Israel is set to allow approximately 200 aid trucks into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing. This arrangement bypasses the Rafah crossing, which has been obstructed for weeks.
This move follows an agreement between US President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to temporarily facilitate aid through Kerem Shalom. Khaled Zayed of the Egyptian Red Crescent confirmed that the aid convoy, including four fuel trucks, was expected to enter Gaza on Sunday. Egypt’s Al Qahera News TV broadcast footage of the trucks entering Kerem Shalom, highlighting the humanitarian efforts amidst the ongoing conflict.
The Rafah crossing has remained closed for nearly three weeks since Israel seized control of the Palestinian side, intensifying its offensive in the area. Egypt, concerned about a potential influx of Palestinians fleeing the conflict, has kept its border shut.