At least 31 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah early Saturday morning, just hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an attack on Rafah was inevitable and ordered a joint evacuation plan. .
Hundreds of thousands of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, who were forced to flee by Israeli ground attacks on other parts of the Strip, have taken refuge in towns on the border with Egypt over the past four months.
Israel has been attacking Rafah for much of the past week and warned people taking shelter there to move north to Khan Yunis, Gaza’s second-largest city, the scene of a month-long offensive by the IDF.
Three night strikes against houses in Rafah resulted in the deaths of multiple members of three families. They included 10 children, the youngest of whom was 3 months old.
Hamas had previously warned that Israel’s plan to attack Rafah would result in “tens of thousands” of casualties.
Saturday, Saudi Arabia warns Israel For the “extremely dangerous attack and targeting of the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.”
An official statement said the city was “the last refuge for hundreds of thousands of people.”
The Gaza Health Ministry, run by Hamas, currently puts the death toll among Palestinians at 28,064. The ministry distinguishes between civilians and Hamas fighters.
Also on Saturday, Israel reportedly targeted Hamas terrorists in an attack launched some 57 miles above the Lebanese border.
The operative survived the attack, but three others, including one Hazbollah fighter, were killed, security sources said.
Hours later, Hezbollah claimed it had seized an Israeli Skylark drone “in good condition.”
Meanwhile, Syrian officials claimed early Saturday that they had shot down an Israeli missile near the occupied Golan Heights.
The alleged missile was the second similar attack within 24 hours.
Israel is reportedly still at odds with Washington after President Biden told reporters that the military’s response to Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack was “overreach.”
Mr. Biden is expected to send CIA Director Bill Burns to Cairo next week to meet with Egyptian and Qatari officials. Two US and Israeli officials told Axios.. The talks aim to reach a cease-fire agreement and return the remaining hostages on October 7th.
with post wire
