Israel's army reports series of attacks in southern Gaza

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Rafah during an attack at night

Photo: Mohammed Abed / AFP

The US President had just called for a protection concept for the people on site when worrying reports came from the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli army says it has attacked targets there.

As the military announced on Monday night, "a series of attacks on terrorist targets in the Shabura area in the southern Gaza Strip" had been carried out. They have ended, it said in a short message on Telegram. No details were given.

Shabura is near the city of Rafah. Before the Gaza war, Rafah had around 300,000 inhabitants, but there are now said to be at least 1.3 million internally displaced people there. Most of them fled there from other parts of the coastal strip, some on orders from the Israeli military.

Israel is planning a military offensive on the city, which is causing significant international criticism. According to eyewitnesses, the Israeli military had previously attacked targets in the city from the air several times. Israeli ground troops have not yet been deployed there.

According to Hamas, 52 people were killed in the Israeli air strikes on Monday night. The attacks hit 14 houses and three mosques, said the health ministry of the radical Islamic Palestinian organization. The information provided by both sides cannot be independently verified.

Biden calls for protection of civilians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the country's army on Friday to prepare an offensive on Rafah. "It is impossible to achieve the war goal of eliminating Hamas if four Hamas battalions remain in Rafah," he said. The army should therefore prepare the evacuation of civilians in Rafah.

On Sunday, US President Joe Biden called for a convincing concept for the protection of the civilian population there. In a phone call with the Israeli Prime Minister, he reiterated that "a credible and implementable plan" is needed "to ensure the safety of the more than a million people seeking refuge there," said the White House in Washington. The US President also called for concrete steps towards more humanitarian aid, it said.

In an interview with the US broadcaster Fox News on Sunday, Netanyahu said that there was "plenty of space for people to go" north of Rafah. Israel is sending them in this direction, including with the help of flyers and mobile communications.

jok/dpa