Israeli airstrikes kill 35 in Gaza's Rafah

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Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. (Photo by EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 35 people Sunday and hit tens for displaced people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Health officials said women and children made up most of the dead and dozens of wounded, according to the Associated Press.

Israel’s army confirmed the attack and said it struck a Hamas installation and killed two senior Hamas militants.

The attacks occurred two days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to end its military offensive in Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million population had sought shelter before Israel's incursion earlier this month. Tens of thousands of people remain in the area while many others have fled.

According to the AP, the airstrike was reported hours after Hamas fired rockets from Gaza that set off air raid sirens as far away as Tel Aviv for the first time in months in a show of resilience more than seven months into Israel's massive air, sea and ground offensive.

The war between Israel and Hamas has killed nearly 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel must take over Rafah to eliminate Hamas’ remaining armies and achieve "total victory" over the militants, who recently regrouped in other parts of Gaza, the AP noted.

Southern Gaza has been largely cut off from aid since Israel launched what it called a limited incursion into Rafah on May 6. Since then over 1 million Palestinians, many already displaced, have fled the city.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.

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