Israel pressures Gaza cities, health officials say 18 die in airstrikes

DOHA/GAZA: Israeli airstrikes killed 18 Palestinians in the Gaza cities of Rafah and Deir Al-Balah, Gaza health officials said on Saturday, as residents of the enclave feared Israel would expand its ground offensive into those last remaining areas where people have sought shelter.

Rafah is on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt and more than half the enclave’s 2.3 million population have fled there as the Israel Defense Forces press their nearly four-month-old war against the militant Hamas group.

Health officials in Gaza said an Israeli airstrike on a house in Rafah killed 14 people including women and children, Gaza health officials said.

There was no confirmation from the Israeli military that it carried out the strike. A military spokesperson said: “In stark contrast to Hamas’ intentional attacks on Israeli men, women and children, the IDF follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.”

The months of intense Israeli bombardment, triggered by Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, has laid waste to Gaza and set off wider conflict in the region. The United States launched airstrikes on Friday in Iraq and Syria against targets linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the militias it backs, in retaliation for a deadly attack on US troops.

Gaza health authorities, who do not differentiate between militants and civilians in their tallies, say more than 27,000 Palestinians have been confirmed killed since the start of the war, 107 of them in the past 24 hours, with thousands more feared lost amid the ruins.

Israel launched its war on Hamas after the Oct. 7 onslaught by Hamas militants who killed 1,200 people and took 253 people hostage into Gaza, more than 100 of whom are still captive, according to Israeli tallies.

Israeli officials say they aim to eliminate Hamas, which has vowed to repeat its October attacks, and repatriate the hostages, many of whom are women and children.

Tens of thousands of people have arrived in Rafah in recent days carrying belongings in their arms and pulling children on carts, since Israeli forces last week launched one of their biggest assaults of the war to capture nearby Khan Younis, the main southern city.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Thursday forces would now press on to Rafah.