Israeli troops sighted in Rafah, airstrike-hit neighbourhood

Gaza, May 28 (IANS/DPA) Israeli troops have been sighted in the city centre of Rafah in southern Gaza, two days after an Israeli airstrike in the area reportedly killed dozens.

Eyewitness reports from Rafah on Tuesday suggest 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 Israeli military has not confirmed the reports.

According to the Hamas-run health authority in Gaza, at least 45 people were killed, and dozens were injured in the Israeli strike on a camp for displaced people, sparking international horror and outrage.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was investigating “an incident”.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had earlier said two senior officials of the Palestinian militant group Hamas were killed in the airstrike.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said around one million people have fled Rafah since Israel launched its latest offensive three weeks ago.

The aid organisation said on the social media platform X that the displaced people had “nowhere safe to go amid bombardments, lack of food and water, piles of waste and unsuitable living conditions”.

It said, “Providing assistance and protection becomes nearly impossible.”

The airstrike follows 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.

–IANS/DPA

sd/khz