Israeli Strike in Gaza's Rafah Leaves Nine Dead, Dozens Injured
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An Israeli strike in the al-Tanour neighborhood, east of Rafah in southern Gaza, claimed multiple lives and caused injuries.
This was revealed by exclusive information and verified video footage obtained by Al Jazeera news agency.
The targeted residential building belonged to the al-Jazzar family, with the strike causing significant destruction. Civil defense teams and locals engaged in extensive search and rescue efforts amidst the aftermath of the shelling.
Israeli military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi announced the commencement of a ground operation in southern Gaza, asserting its comparable intensity to the prior attack in the north. Halevi claimed the elimination of Palestinian battalion and company commanders, confirming the operation against the southern part of the Palestinian enclave began on Saturday.
“It will be no less powerful than (the operation in northern Gaza), it will have no less results,” Halevi stated.
The Israeli military has “capabilities” to conduct the operation in the “most thorough way,” in the same fashion it did “with strength and thoroughly in the north of the Gaza Strip,” he claimed. Alongside the operation in the south, the Israeli army will continue its attack on northern Gaza in order to “deepen the achievements” there, he added.
Thus far the Israeli operation in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of over 15,500 civilians since October 7, according to the local health ministry. The authority has been struggling with counting the exact toll, given the devastation inflicted on the local healthcare system, though it estimates that around 70% of Palestinian victims were women and children.