4 Palestinians killed as Israeli jets hit dwelling in Rafah

By Mohammed Majed

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) — At least four people were killed on Thursday when Israeli jets struck a residential building in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, according to a Palestinian medical source.

"The number of fatalities brought to the Kuwaiti Hospital due to Israeli airstrike on the Lafi family's house in the Jnaina neighborhood has risen to four Palestinians," the source told Anadolu.

The source added that the strikes also injured several Palestinians, noting that some of those wounded were in "serious" condition.

It added that the bodies were in "shreds."

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas which killed about 1,200 people. More than 34,900 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and 78,500 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala