Israeli Tanks Continue To Attack Rafah, Fire Shots At Refugee Tents

DOC UNRWA/Child conditions in Gaza

JAKARTA - Israeli tanks powered by warplanes and drones pushed further into the western part of the Gaza Strip's Rafah city. Israeli army attacks (IDFs) killed eight people, according to Palestinian citizens and medics.

Reported by Reuters on Wednesday, June 19, the tanks moved to five wilayyah after midnight. Shots hit refugee family tents in the Al-Mawasi area, further west of the coastal area, they said.

Medical and media officers Hamas said eight Palestinians were killed in Al-Mawasi and many families fled north in panic. They did not identify any casualties and the Israeli military said they were investigating the report.

Residents said Israeli army forces blew up several houses in western Rafah, which were home to more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million population before last month, when Israel began ground attacks and forced most residents to head north.

Several UN and Palestinian figures say the number of those who still survive is below 100,000.

Another terrible night in Rafah. They opened fire from planes, drones, and tanks in the western region to cover their invasion, said a Rafah resident, who asked not to be named.

"Peluu and bullets landed in the Mawasi area near where people slept, killed and injured many people," he told Reuters through a chat app.

About eight months after the war, there has been no sign of a halt to fighting due to efforts by international mediators, backed by the United States, have so far failed to persuade Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire.

Israeli forces have destroyed much of Gaza's territory and captured much of the Palestinian territories, but have not yet achieved their goal of destroying Hamas and releasing Israeli hostages.