Israel retaliated with airstrikes on Sunday night hours after Hamas claimed that it had fired rockets at Tel Aviv. According to Palestinian health workers 35 people were killed in Rafah after the Israeli missiles hit refugee tents in the region.
Israeli Defence Forces claimed that its airstrikes on a Hamas compound in Rafah eliminated Yassin Rabia, the Hamas Chief of Staff in Judea and Samaria, and Khaled Nagar, a senior Hamas official. IDF said it is looking into claims that civilians were killed in the attack.
The attacks were carried out two days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to end its military offensive in Rafah.
Hours before the Israeli attack, Hamas reportedly fired a barrage of long-range rockets from Gaza targeting Tel Aviv for the first time in several months. No casualties were reported on the Israeli side after eight projectiles entered the country.
According to Gaza's health ministry, around 36,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel and killed around 1,200 people. The militants also took 250 people as hostages among whom 100 are still held captive.