At least 22 Palestinian civilians including eight children have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern Gaza’s Rafah, bringing the number of killed people to 34,683 and 78,018 injured, according to media reports.
According to reports, Israel’s intense bombardment of Rafah on the intervening night of Sunday-Monday killed 22 people, including eight children, with the Israeli military ordering Palestinians to move out of the eastern parts of Rafah on Monday morning.
In a post on X, the Israeli military said: “In accordance with the approval of the government, an ongoing situation assessment will guide the gradual movement of civilians in the specified areas in eastern Rafah, to the humanitarian area.”
Reports said Hamas fired rockets at the Karem Abu Salem crossing, killing three Israeli troopers on Sunday, with Israel retaliating with heavy bombardment on Rafah where more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.
Earlier, on Saturday, Israel and Hamas met in Egypt for truce talks. Israel stated that it will not agree to end the war and that the military will go through with its planned incursion into Gaza's Rafah.
While Israel's National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, said, "rushing into a truce deal is a bad idea and that Proceeding towards Rafah is better, ending the war without winning completely would be a disaster."
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh blamed Israeli PM Netanyahu for “sabotaging” the talks during the meet.