According to Gaza health officials, Israel launched a series of strikes on Rafah early on Monday, killing dozens of civilians. In addition, Israel declared that it had freed two hostages from a special assault into Gaza City’s southern region, where 1.4 million Palestinians have taken sanctuary throughout the four-month conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Israel has been hinting that the heavily populated city on the Egyptian border may soon be the target of a ground offensive in Gaza. According to the White House, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forewarned by President Joe Biden on Sunday not to launch a military action against Hamas in Rafah unless there was a “credible and executable” strategy in place to safeguard civilians.
An Associated Press reporter in Rafah reported that the strikes occurred early on Monday morning in the vicinity of Kuwait Hospital. A few injured parties from the strikes had been transported to the medical facility.
The Israeli military claimed to have hit “terror targets in the area of Shaboura,” a Rafah neighborhood. The military statement stated that the round of strikes was over, but it did not specify the targets or provide an estimate of possible casualties or damage.
Health officials in Gaza told Reuters that the attacks claimed the lives of at least 37 Palestinians.
The Israeli military declared shortly after the shelling that it had liberated two hostages, named as Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, after a special forces raid in Rafah, likewise early on Monday. Both men were reportedly abducted by Hamas militants from Kibbutz Nir Yizhak during the Oct. 7 raid that ignited the conflict between Israel and Hamas. These are only the third and second hostages to be securely freed.
According to Palestinian officials, the operation that resulted in the two men’s rescue from a residential building also claimed the lives of at least seven other people. At least 17 airstrikes, flares, and Apache helicopter fire were recorded by witnesses.
