Israel's retaliatory airstrike kills 35 in Rafah after Hamas launches 8 rockets at Tel Aviv

At least 35 people were killed after Israel conducted a retaliatory airstrike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The attack came hours after Hamas launched a barrage of rockets at Tel Aviv for the first time in months. The Israeli airstrike became devastating after rockets hurled by the Jewish nation hit tents that were housing displaced people.

While giving an update on the matter, the Israeli military claimed that its air force struck a Hamas compound. Authorities maintained that the strike was carried out with “precise ammunition and on the basis of precise intelligence," The Guardian reported.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) noted that the Sunday airstrike took out Hamas’ chief of staff for the West Bank and another senior official who was behind the deadly October 7 attacks that triggered the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

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They also acknowledge that they are “aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited, several civilians in the area were harmed. The incident is under review.”

Death toll is likely to rise

A spokesperson from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society noted that the death toll in the Sunday strike was likely to rise as search and rescue operations are currently underway in Rafah’s Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood.

The humanitarian body also maintained that the location where the Israeli airstrike took place was designated by the Jewish nation as a “humanitarian area”. Hence, it was not an area where the Israeli military called for evacuation.

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Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri even went on to describe the attack in Rafah as a “massacre”, and said the United States was responsible for aiding Israel with weapons and money.

What happened in Tel Aviv? 

The attack came hours after air raid sirens echoed the skies of Tel Aviv and across central Israel as Hamam launched a barrage of rockets towards Israel. This was the first time the terror group launched an attack into the Israeli territory for the first time since January this year.

The IDF claimed that a salvo of eight rockets was fired from the Rafah area. The attack came as a surprise since it was believed that the group’s ability to fire rockets and drones toward Israeli territory had significantly diminished over the eight months of the war.

After the attack, the Israeli authorities informed that most of the rockets were intercepted. However, reports are emerging that two women suffered minor injuries from the strikes and were taken to a shelter for treatment. Several flights from Ben Gurion airport were delayed or cancelled due to the attack.

With inputs from agencies.