Israel hits refugee camp, ‘dozens killed’

Israeli airstrikes on an area in Gaza where displaced Palestinians have taken shelter have ­reportedly killed dozens of people.

Aid groups said the strikes targeted the Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood just north of the southern border city of Rafah where displaced civilians were sheltering in tents, igniting a fire.

According to Gaza’s civil ­defence agency operating in the Hamas-run territory, the bombing overnight on Sunday killed and wounded at least 50 in the area, where it said about 100,000 people were living.

Witnesses said many were trapped in their tents in a location classified as a humanitarian area.

Unverified videos on social media showed disturbing images of burned bodies and tents ­engulfed in flames, including one that appeared to show a man holding a dead child.

The Israeli military said its aircraft targeted two Hamas leaders responsible for carrying out ­attacks in the West Bank. It confirmed it was aware of reports indicating that several civilians were harmed when a fire broke out.

The Israel Defence Forces said that in a strike based on “precise intelligence” its aircraft had “eliminated the terrorist Yassin Rabia … as well as Khaled Nagar, a senior official in Hamas’s Judea and ­Samaria wing”.

The IDF said Rabia was in charge of Hamas’s entire operation in the West Bank, including transferring funds and planning attacks in the area during the ­Second Intifada, which saw a ­period of deadly attacks against ­Israeli civilians and soldiers.

According to the IDF, Nagar was in charge of “directing shooting attacks”, transferring funds and carrying out attacks during 2001-03.

“The strike was carried out against legitimate targets under international law, using precise munitions and on the basis of precise intelligence that indicated Hamas’s use of the area,” the IDF said, appearing to allude to an International Court of Justice ­ruling on Friday that called for Israel to curb its military operation in Rafah.

Authorities in the West Bank called for “immediate international intervention” to stop “the crimes and massacre in Rafah”.

The strike came after rockets were fired from Rafah towards central Israel for the first time in four months earlier on Sunday, amid international pressure for the IDF to curb its operation in a city harbouring the last of Gaza’s displaced.

The Israeli military said eight rockets were fired from Rafah, where they have been conducting operations since May 6.

“Following the sirens that sounded in central Israel, eight projectiles were identified crossing from the area of Rafah into ­Israeli territory,” the military said, adding that “a number” of the rockets were intercepted by the aerial ­defence system.

One person was injured by shrapnel after it fell in several locations, according to Israeli medics.

When the sirens sounded just after lunchtime local time, coffee shops shut and people reacted with shock and surprise. Lifeguards closed the beaches for the rest of the day, although many beachgoers did not go home.

In a statement on its Telegram account, Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

Later, the IDF claimed that the rocket launcher used in the strikes, situated near two mosques in Rafah, was hit.

Israel war cabinet minister Benny Gantz said: “The rockets shot from Rafah … prove that the IDF must operate in every place Hamas still operates from, and as such, the IDF will continue to ­operate wherever necessary. The world must know – those who still hold captive our hostages, shoot at our cities and continue to propagate terror are responsible for the situation.

“Terrorist Hamas are war criminals, and we intend on making them pay for their crimes – sooner or later.”

According to the UN, more than 800,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah and its surrounding areas over the past three weeks, since Israel cordoned off the eastern parts and advanced into the southwest and towards the city centre.

Israel says four remaining Hamas battalions are operating out of the city, with the latest ­rocket fire highlighting their ­remaining capacity to fire rockets into the heart of Israel. The Rafah crossing with Egypt, taken by ­Israel early in the offensive, remains closed for aid, supplies and emergencies.

According to the White House, US officials are due to head to Cairo this week to “support efforts to reopen the Rafah crossing”, while negotiating teams are also poised to go to the Egyptian capital in the hope of reigniting stalled ceasefire talks between ­Israel and Hamas.