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At least 30 Palestinians were killed and dozens of others were wounded after the Israeli air strikes hit the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah housing the displaced, local authorities said.

Palestinian health and civil emergency service officials said that the strikes hit a neighbourhood in western Rafah, sheltering thousands of people who had fled the eastern areas of the city after Israeli forces launched a ground offensive there over 15 days ago.

A field hospital in Rafah, run by The International Committee of the Red Cross, saw an influx of casualties while other medical facilities were also receiving patients in large numbers.

Medics refrained from confirming the final death toll in the Israeli strikes as several of the injured were in critical condition.

Holding the United States responsible for providing weapons and financial aid to Israel, a senior Hamas official called the attack a ‘massacre.’

“The air strikes burnt the tents, the tents are melting and the people’s bodies are also melting”, a resident at a hospital was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters.

As per a statement by the Hamas al-Qassam Brigades, the rockets were launched in response to ‘Zionist massacres against civilians’.

Israel had earlier said it wanted to eradicate Hamas fighters in Rafah and rescue hostages it claimed were being held in the area.

“Rockets fired from Rafah prove that the (Israel Defense Forces) must operate in every place Hamas still operates from”, Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz said.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant conducted an operational evaluation in Rafah.

“He was briefed on troops’ operations above and below the ground, as well as the deepening of operations in additional areas with the aim of dismantling Hamas battalions”, Gallant’s office said.

Gaza’s health ministry said that nearly 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes so far.

Israel launched an offensive in Gaza after Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and holding over 250 people as hostages.

Over the past few months, the international community has condemned Israel’s offensive on Gaza and has called for restraint. Recently, several US universities saw widespread protests against Israeli aggression in Gaza.

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