Gaza: At least 22 killed in Israeli attacks

The attacks hit a residential building in Rafah, killing eight people, and a nest turned into shelter for displaced persons in the town of Zuwaida é in central Gaza where five others were killed. Meanwhile, nine people were killed in an attack on Deir al-Bala.

Over half of Gaza's 2.3 million people have fled to Rafah, following orders for Israel's evacuation issued prior to its expansion of land offensive. The orders for evacuation now cover two thirds of the territory of the small enclave, which is surrounded.

Even in areas where residents take refuge, such as Rafah, Israel has repeatedly carried out air strikes after arguing that it is attacking the limits of Hamas, the Palestinian group declared terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union. Israel holds the Palestinian radical group responsible for the high number of civilian victims, saying Hamas operates within civilian areas. On Thursday, US President Joe Biden said Israel is conducting an excessive “ ” war.

Israeli troops are still focused on the town of Han Yunis, located north of Rafah, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly warned this week that Rafahu will be the next goal, creating panic among hundreds of thousands of displaced persons.

Netanyah's warnings have also alarmed Egypt, which has said that any ground operation in the Rafah area, or any major shift across the border, would undermine its 40-year peace treaty with Israel.

The war between Israel and Hamas was sparked after the radical Palestinian group carried out an attack south of Israel on October 7th, killing nearly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping another 250. In Gaza, as a result of Israeli offensive, more than 27,000 Palestinians have been killed, many have moved, and a quarter of the population is on the verge of hunger. / REL