Israeli tanks have reached Rafah's city centre as residents reported an escalation of fighting in the area, in southern Gaza, which was once seen as the territory's last refuge.
First responders from the Palestinian Civil Defense and the Palestinian Red Crescent said new Israeli strikes in the Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood in northwest Rafah killed at least 16 Palestinians overnight. This morning, witnesses said Israeli forces were seen near al Awda mosque, a central Rafah landmark.
An Israeli incursion launched in early May has caused nearly one million to flee from Rafah, most of whom had already been displaced in the war. Israel has faced worldwide condemnation after their strikes killed over 36,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7.
READ MORE: Rafah hospital in Gaza 'out of service' over Israel army's 'deliberate attacks'
A Palestinian boy searches the debris at the site of a strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah (AFP via Getty Images)On Sunday night, an attack on a displacement camp killed at least 45 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and the Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service. The ministry said the dead included at least 12 women, eight children, and three older adults, with another three bodies burned beyond recognition.
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Mohammed Abuassa, who rushed to the scene in the northwestern neighbourhood of Tel al-Sultan, said rescuers "pulled out people who were in an unbearable state." He said: "We pulled out children who were in pieces. We pulled out young and elderly people. The fire in the camp was unreal."
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, condemned the airstrike, saying the images coming out of Gaza are "testament to how Rafah has turned into hell on earth".
On Monday evening, the director of Rafah's Kuwaiti Hospital said the structure was out of service following "repeated and deliberate attacks on the hospital's surroundings", one of which targeted the hospital gate. Two staff working in the hospital were killed, Dr al-Hams said. He added five medical staff were previously injured in a separate attack.
"Due to the enemy's expansion of the military operation in Rafah Governorate and the repeated and deliberate attacks on the hospital's surroundings, the most recent of which was targeting the hospital gate, which led to the death of two staff working in the hospital, as well as the injury of 5 medical staff in a previous targeting, we announce that the Kuwait Specialised Hospital will be out of service," Dr al-Hams said in a statement. The hospital's director added the working medical teams were transferred to the "field hospital" which is being prepared in the al-Mawasi area on Gaza's coast.
A man pulls water containers as he walks past destroyed buildings in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip (AFP via Getty Images)Meanwhile, Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognised a Palestinian state on Tuesday in a coordinated effort by the three Western European nations to add international pressure on Israel to soften its devastating response to last year's Hamas-led attack. Tel Aviv slammed the diplomatic move that will have no immediate impact on its grinding war in Gaza.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told his nation in a televised address from Madrid that "this is a historic decision that has a single goal, and that is to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace." Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz quickly lashed out at Spain on X, saying Sánchez's government was "being complicit in inciting genocide against Jews and war crimes."
Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike that killed at least 45 people (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)Ireland and Norway soon joined Spain in formalising a decision they had jointly announced the previous week. The Palestinian flag was raised in Dublin outside Leinster House, the seat of the Irish parliament.
"This is an important moment and I think it sends a signal to the world that there are practical actions you can take as a country to help keep the hope and destination of a two-state solution alive at a time when others are trying to sadly bomb it into oblivion," Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said before his Cabinet meets to formally sign off on the decision. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement that "for more than 30 years, Norway has been one of the strongest advocates for a Palestinian state. Today, when Norway officially recognises Palestine as a state, is a milestone in the relationship between Norway and Palestine."
While some 140 countries have recognized a Palestinian state - more than two-thirds of the United Nations - none of the major Western powers has done so. Still, the adherence of three European countries to the group represents a victory for Palestinian efforts in the world of public opinion, and will likely put pressure on EU heavyweights France and Germany to rethink their position.
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