On the night between Wednesday and Thursday, Israel launched a series of new air strikes against Rafah, located in the southern region of the Gaza Strip. This information was reported by a journalist from AFP, who was present in the area when the attacks commenced. These air strikes come at a time when complicated talks in Cairo have begun in an effort to establish a ceasefire on Palestinian territory. The United Nations reports that the vast majority of the population, approximately 2.2 million people, face the threat of famine in Gaza. Moreover, humanitarian organizations have reported attacks on their facilities.
During the course of the night, the Israeli air force carried out around ten attacks. Rafah is seen as the “last bastion” of Hamas by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Despite facing international protests, Netanyahu has decided to initiate a ground offensive in Rafah with the aim of defeating the Palestinian Islamic movement and rescuing the hostages held in Gaza.
According to the United Nations, nearly 1.5 million people are densely packed into this city, which is situated on the closed border with Egypt. Wissam Lafi, a resident of Rafah, expressed the dire situation by stating, “We are waiting for death, day after day. We thank God that the day is over and that we are still alive. We are just waiting for death.”
