Israel flattens remains of Rafah ruins as latest strikes on Gaza hit 3 homes

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 28, 2025 12:29 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

WARNING: This communicative contains a disturbing image of death.

Israel's service is flattening the remaining ruins of the metropolis of Rafah connected the confederate borderline of the Gaza Strip, residents say, successful what they fearfulness is simply a portion of a program to herd the colonisation into confinement successful a elephantine campy connected the barren ground.

No nutrient oregon aesculapian supplies person reached the 2.3 cardinal residents of the Gaza Strip successful astir 2 months, since Israel imposed what has since go its longest ever full blockade of the territory, pursuing the illness of a six-week ceasefire.

Israel relaunched its crushed run successful mid-March and has since seized swathes of onshore and ordered residents retired of what it says are "buffer zones" around Gaza's edges, including each of Rafah, which comprises astir 20 percent of the Strip.

Israeli nationalist broadcaster Kan reported connected Saturday that the subject was mounting up a caller "humanitarian zone" successful Rafah, to which civilians would beryllium moved aft information checks to support retired Hamas fighters. Aid would beryllium distributed by backstage companies.

The Israeli subject has yet to remark connected the study and did not instantly respond to a Reuters petition for comment. Residents said monolithic explosions could present beryllium heard unceasingly from the dormant portion wherever Rafah erstwhile stood arsenic a metropolis of 300,000 people.

"Explosions ne'er stop, time and night, whenever the crushed shakes, we cognize they are destroying much homes successful Rafah. Rafah is gone," Tamer, a Gaza City antheral displaced successful Deir al-Balah, farther north, told Reuters by substance message.

He said helium was getting telephone calls from friends arsenic acold distant arsenic crossed the borderline successful Egypt whose children were being kept awake by the explosions.

Abu Mohammed, different displaced antheral in Gaza, told Reuters by text: "We are terrified that they could unit america into Rafah, which is going to beryllium similar a cage of a attraction camp, wholly sealed disconnected from the world."

27 Palestinians reported killed successful latest strikes

Israeli strikes connected the Gaza Strip overnight into Monday killed astatine slightest 27 Palestinians, according to section wellness officials. There was nary contiguous remark from the Israeli military.

An airstrike deed a location successful Beit Lahiya, sidesplitting 10 people, including a Palestinian prisoner, Abdel-Fattah Abu Mahadi, who had been released arsenic portion of the ceasefire. His wife, 2 of their children and a grandchild were besides killed, according to the Indonesian Hospital, which received the bodies.

Another onslaught deed a location successful Gaza City, sidesplitting 7 people, including 2 women, according to the Gaza Health Ministry's exigency service. Two different radical were wounded.

Late Sunday, a onslaught deed a location successful the confederate metropolis of Khan Younis, sidesplitting astatine slightest 10 people, including 5 siblings arsenic young arsenic four years old, according to the Health Ministry. Two different children were killed on with their parents, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.

Gaza connected precipice of wide hunger, disease: UN 

Israel, which imposed its full blockade on Gaza on March 2, says capable supplies reached the territory successful the erstwhile six weeks of the truce that it does not judge the colonisation is astatine risk. It says it cannot let successful nutrient oregon medicine due to the fact that Hamas fighters would exploit it.

United Nations agencies say Gazans are connected the precipice of wide hunger and disease, with conditions present astatine their worst since the warfare began connected Oct.7, 2023, erstwhile Hamas fighters attacked Israeli communities.

The UN's highest tribunal began holding hearings connected Monday into Israel's work to facilitate humanitarian assistance to the territories it occupies.

WATCH | At slightest 23 killed successful overnight strikes connected schoolhouse structure past week:

Talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt person truthful acold failed to widen the ceasefire, during which Hamas released 38 hostages and Israel released hundreds of prisoners and detainees.

Fifty-nine Israeli hostages are inactive held in Gaza; fewer than fractional of them believed to beryllium alive. Hamas says it would escaped them lone nether a woody that ends the war; Israel says it volition hold lone to impermanent pauses successful warring unless Hamas is wholly disarmed, which the fighters reject.

In Doha, Qatar's premier curate said connected Sunday that efforts to scope a caller ceasefire in Gaza had made immoderate progress.

On Friday, the World Food Program said it had run retired of nutrient stocks in Gaza after the longest closure the Gaza Strip had ever faced.

Some residents toured the streets looking for weeds that turn people connected the ground; others picked up adust leaves from trees. Desperate enough, fishermen turned to catching turtles, skinning them and selling their meat.

The Gaza war started aft Hamas-led fighters killed 1,200 radical and took 251 hostages to Gaza in the October, 2023 attacks, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's violative connected the enclave has killed much than 51,400, according to Palestinian wellness officials.