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Photos:
Scene in Rafa. Published by IMEMC News

The ruins of the building from which the hostages were rescued in Rafah, early on Monday. Credit: Said Khatib / AFP. Published by Haaretz

Destroyed buildings in Rafah. Credit: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa / Reuters. Published by Haaretz
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by IMEMC News
Feb 12, 2024

Updated: Since the early morning hours Monday, Israel’s missiles have killed nearly 100 Palestinians, and injured at least 300, including many women and children, in several parts of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

Many Palestinians, including children, were killed, and others were injured when the army fired a missile at a tent where displaced families sheltered in Rafah.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said many Palestinians remain under the rubble of bombarded homes and buildings in several parts of Rafah.

The Head of the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah, Soheib Al-Hams, said the army is using internationally-banned bombs, adding that many of the Palestinian victims lost limbs or were burnt and severely mutilated.

Palestinian medics and rescue teams are still searching under the rubble looking for potential survivors and those who have been killed by the Israeli missiles. So far, the corpses of about 67 Palestinians were moved to hospitals in Rafah.

After the army said it secured two Israeli captives in Rafah, a spokesperson of the Israeli army said the offensive in the city has been planned for a while, and added that the army is looking for 134 Israelis held in the Gaza Strip.

In Deir Al-Balah, in central Gaza, the number of slain Palestinians is now 15, including children, after the army fired a missile at a home in the city.

The Israeli army also fired many missiles and shells at homes and building in the Al-Boreij refugee camp and the Al-Musaddar village, in central Gaza.

In Gaza City, Palestinian medics located the corpses of about 100 Palestinians after the army withdrew from Tal Al-Hawa and the Rimal area; most of the victims were killed by Israeli army sharpshooters.

In addition, two Palestinians were killed when the army fired at them in the Al-Amal School, where the families sheltered, behind Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said that army committed nineteen massacres against Palestinian families, killing 164 Palestinians and wounding 200.

Israel has now killed at least 28,340 Palestinians, and injured more than 67,984, including women, children, infants, and the elderly, in several parts of the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. Thousands of dead Palestinians remain on roads, in alleys and under the rubble of bombarded homes and buildings, while medics and rescue operators remain unable to reach them due to continued Israeli bombing and siege on various areas.

Updated: Israeli Missiles Kill 100 Palestinians In Rafah, Day 129
Feb 12, 2024 at 07:08

Earlier on Monday at dawn, the Israeli army fired dozens of missiles and shells into various parts of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, killing at least 100 Palestinians, including women and children, and wounding hundreds, in addition to killing and wounding many Palestinians in Khan Younis.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that Rafah is subject to extensive Israeli bombings, especially in the city center, where the Israeli missiles struck homes where the families tried to shelter, including in the area of the PRCS headquarters in the city,

The army carried out more than 40 airstrikes, in addition to the dozens of missiles from the Navy ships and artillery shells, targeting more than 14 homes and three mosques where the families sheltered.

Ambulances and rescue teams rushed to the bombarded areas and started the efforts to evacuate the slain and wounded Palestinians, while many used private cars to rush them to hospitals.

Sources at the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah said the Palestinians transferred dozens of slain and wounded residents to the medical facility, while hundreds of residents rushed there, seeking shelter.

The PRCS said the number of casualties could be higher as the search is still ongoing and is impeded by the continued Israeli bombings.

The Israeli bombing also targeted various areas near the border with Egypt, including areas where families camped after fleeing their homes.

Al-Jazeera quoted the Israeli army claiming it struck “important targets” in Shaboura, and added that “it concluded its operations there.”

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said the army fired dozens of missiles at homes in front of its headquarters in the center of Rafah, in addition to the two mosques.

The Israeli attacks in Rafah led to the death of at least 100 Palestinians at the time of this report, including many women and children.

In related news, the Al-Jazeera News Agency said the army fired a missile at a home in Deir Al-Balah, in central Gaza, killing ten Palestinians, including children.

Furthermore, the Israeli army announced the death of two of its soldiers during gun battles with Palestinian fighters in southern Gaza.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled their homes in northern and central Gaza, in addition to the natives of the city (about 267,000), are trying to shelter in Rafah, the southern-most district of the Gaza Strip.

Currently, the number of Palestinians in Rafah is more than 1.4 Million of the 2.2 Million Palestinians in the entire Gaza Strip.

The PRCS stated that the army is firing barrages of live fire across the border area in Rafah, amidst extensive bombing on surrounding areas and several parts of the city.

In addition, the Israeli army claimed it, in coordination with the Shabak and Yamam special forces, managed to free two Israeli captives in Rafah, after exchanging fire with Palestinian fighters, after midnight.

In Khan Younis, the army continued its attacks and violations against Nasser Medical Center, killing and wounding many Palestinians, including a woman who was shot by a sharpshooter.

In related news, Israeli sources said Palestinian fighters managed to ambush Israeli soldiers and tanks in Khan Younis, killing eleven soldiers, as the army continues to face fierce resistance in several parts of the city.

Al-Jazeera said the Israeli army ordered its soldiers to refrain from publishing videos in their military bases and during the operations in the Gaza Strip, and stated that it will deal harshly with any soldiers who films the invasions, unless it serves the “operational targets”.

It is worth mentioning that many videos, filmed by the soldiers using their mobile phones reveal atrocities committed by them, including the videos were the soldiers were seen celebrating the bombing of Palestinian homes, and even where they show ‘pride’ in committing those crimes.

The number of slain Palestinians reached at least 28,176 and the number of wounded has reached more than 67,784 since October 7, 2023, after the army committed 14 massacres against entire families, killing 112 and wounding 173, including many women and children. (The numbers will be updated in this article or future articles once they become available)

First Published on: Feb 12, 2024 at 05:09
Second Update: Feb 12, 2024 at 05:50
Third Update: Feb 12, 2024 at 07:08
Fourth Update Feb 12, 2024 at 08:30
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by Jack Khoury for Haaretz
Feb 12, 2024 3:20pm

At least 67 people were killed and dozens were injured during the rescue operation of Israeli hostages Louis Har and Fernando Marman in southern Gaza, according to a report by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry on Monday.

The ministry said there had been many casualties in the al-Shabura refugee camp near Rafah due to strikes by the Israeli Air Force and exchanges of gunfire between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists. It said the number was likely to grow as rescue workers search for people trapped under rubble.

"The medical and humanitarian situation in Rafah is catastrophic," said Dr. Ashraf Al-Qudra, the ministry's spokesman. "The city's hospitals have not been able to cope with the huge number of casualties. Many of the wounded are lying on the floor because of a serious shortage of beds and medical equipment."

The ministry said that the total number of dead in Gaza in the last two days reached 164, with another 200 injured. Since the start of the Gaza war, the ministry said 28,340 people had been killed and about 68,000 wounded. Gaza's health ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Har and Marman were rescued from a second-floor apartment in the refugee camp. At least three of the men guarding them were killed by the Israeli rescue team, which used explosives to break down the apartment door. The area where the captives were being held is very densely populated, especially after refugees have fled from northern Gaza to the south.

Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Daniel Hagari said Monday morning that the army had spent a long time preparing for the rescue and were waiting for conditions to undertake it. He said that at 1:49 A.M. Monday morning, IDF, Shin Bet and Israel Police special anti-terror (Yamam) units broke into the building where the hostages were being held in the heart of Rafah by armed Hamas fighters.

"From the moment they broke into the apartment, Yamam fighters took hold of Louis and Fernando protected them with their bodies and a tough battle got underway that included heavy exchanges of fire in several locations with many terrorists," said Hagari.

He added that a minute after the break-in, "aerial cover fire began to enable the force to isolate Hamas terrorists in the area and hit them." At that point, he said, the rescue team took the hostages out of the apartment and brought them under fire to a safe area.

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke Sunday night with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time in three weeks, where he expressed concern about harm to non-combatants in a possible Israeli military offensive into Rafah. Biden told Netanyahu that any operation had to include a plan ensuring the security of Palestinian civilians.