The occupation commits 3 new massacres in Gaza and an international warning of a “massacre” in Rafah

This came according to the Ministry’s daily statistical report, regarding the toll of martyrs and wounded as a result of the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip for the 210th day.

The ministry said, “The Israeli occupation committed 3 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, of which 26 martyrs and 51 wounded arrived at hospitals during the past 24 hours.” The ministry continued: “A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them.” ".

7 Palestinians, including 4 children, were martyred and others were seriously injured in an Israeli bombing on a house in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, while a UN official warned that any Israeli incursion into Rafah could be a “massacre” against civilians in the governorate, which is crowded with displaced people.

Medical sources reported on Friday that 7 Palestinians, including 4 children, were martyred, in addition to the injury of a number of other civilians, as a result of Israeli warplanes bombing a house belonging to the “Shaheen” family in the Al-Zuhur neighborhood, north of Rafah.

The sources reported that the victims arrived at Abu Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital, adding that among the martyrs was a 41-year-old woman and four of her children.

Over the past few days, the Israeli occupation forces have intensified their raids on the city of Rafah, coinciding with its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s confirmation, last Tuesday, that his army will enter the city “whether there is a prisoner exchange agreement (with Hamas) and a ceasefire or not.”

Incursion into Rafah "massacre"

In this context, Jens Laerke, spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said on Friday that any Israeli occupation incursion into Rafah would endanger the lives of hundreds of thousands of Gazans and would be a massive blow to humanitarian operations in the entire Strip.

"It could be a massacre of civilians and a massive blow to the humanitarian relief operation in the entire sector because it is mainly managed from Rafah," Laerke said at a press briefing in Geneva.

He added that the relief operations launched from Rafah include medical clinics and food distribution points, including centers for children suffering from malnutrition.

"Just a bandage"

A World Health Organization official said in the same press conference that a contingency plan had been prepared in the event that the Israeli occupation forces carried out a ground invasion, and the plan includes a new field hospital, but he said that "this will not be sufficient to prevent a large number of deaths."

"I really want to say that this emergency plan is just a bandage. This will not at all prevent the expected large number of deaths and illnesses resulting from the military operation," Rick Pepperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, added via video link.

He added that he was "deeply concerned" that any incursion would lead to the closure of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which is currently used to bring in medical supplies.

Since October 7, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, leaving tens of thousands of victims, most of them children and women, in addition to massive and comprehensive destruction of infrastructure and buildings, causing disasters and humanitarian crises, according to government and UN officials.