Gaza: Israeli strikes kill 21, uncertainty at Rafah border post

Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes killed 21 Palestinians, including six children, in Gaza on Wednesday, according to health officials in the enclave. At least three bodies were transported to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis after strikes hit tents and houses in this area of ​​southern Gaza, according to Civil Defense, Gaza’s first aid agency under Hamas’ authority. Among the dead was a doctor who rushed to help the victims, and who was killed in a second attack at the same location.

Other strikes were carried out on Gaza City, north of the enclave, during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, and a five-month-old infant was reported to have lost his life.

The Israeli army said it launched the “precise” strikes in response to Hamas fighters shooting at its soldiers. An Israeli officer was seriously injured by the shots, according to the army, which denounced a violation of the ceasefire agreement.

Hamas said Israel’s action undermined efforts to stabilize the situation between the two rival forces. In a statement, the group called for “immediate international pressure to end the violations.”

As a result of these clashes, Palestinian patients who were preparing to cross the Rafah border crossing to go to Egypt were informed that Israel was postponing their passage. A few hours later, they were asked to prepare again to cross the border.

An Egyptian security source told Reuters that efforts were being made to reopen the crossing and that Israel had cited security concerns in the Rafah area to justify its closure.

For its part, the Israeli agency responsible for controlling access to Gaza, COGAT, said in a statement published on X that the Rafah crossing point remained open, but that it had not received the necessary coordination information from the World Health Organization to facilitate the passage.

Since Monday, after almost two years of closure, the Rafah crossing has theoretically been ajar, allowing Palestinians who meet the drastic conditions set by the Jewish state to leave Gaza or return there. A few dozen people were able to cross the border, mainly sick or injured people evacuated to Egypt, accompanied by their loved ones, or residents returning after receiving treatment.

Sixteen patients from Gaza and 40 of their companions crossed into Egypt on Tuesday, Gazan doctors told Reuters. During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, a bus carrying Palestinians returning from Egypt via Rafah arrived in Khan Younes, according to AFP images. Women and children came down, greeted by their loved ones eager to hug them. “I can’t describe what I feel,” Palestinian woman Fariza Barabakh told the French press agency. “I am so happy to be reunited with my husband, my children, my family, my loved ones, and of course, my country again.” “The feeling of belonging to a land is more important than any other,” she added.

After two years of almost hermetic closure, the reopening of the crossing point was one of the conditions of the October 10 ceasefire aimed at ending fighting between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants.

Yet mutual violence continues daily, with each accusing the other of violating the ceasefire. Since October 10, Israeli fire has killed at least 530 people, mainly civilians, according to Gaza health authorities. At the same time, Palestinian militants killed four Israeli soldiers, according to Israeli authorities.