At least 21 Palestinians were killed on Monday as Israeli military strikes hit various parts of the Gaza Strip, according to local health authorities. The attacks came as Israeli forces advanced in Rafah, near the Egyptian border, escalating a week-long aerial and ground offensive.
Health officials reported that nearly 700 Palestinians have lost their lives since Israel resumed its military campaign in Gaza last Tuesday, following weeks of relative calm after a January ceasefire. Among the dead were at least 400 women and children, they said.
Hamas confirmed that several of its senior political and security officials had been killed in the strikes. However, Israel defended its renewed operations, stating that they were intended to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages held in Gaza.
While Israel claims to take measures to minimize civilian harm, it has questioned the casualty figures reported by health authorities in the Hamas-controlled territory. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz reiterated that Israel’s fight is against Hamas, not Gaza’s civilian population.
“But when Hamas fights in civilian dress, from civilian homes, and from behind civilians, it puts them at risk, and they pay a terrible price. That is why we are urging Gazans to evacuate combat zones,” Katz said on X.
Hamas, however, denied using civilians and residential areas for military purposes.
In Rafah, local officials reported that thousands of people were trapped in the Tel Al-Sultan neighborhood, where Israeli forces had been deployed.
“Communications with the neighborhood are completely severed, and the fate of residents remains unknown. Families are trapped under the rubble, with no access to water, food, or medicine, amid a total collapse of healthcare services,” a statement from the Rafah municipality read.
Israel launched its latest offensive in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, in which militants stormed southern Israel, killing 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
