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At least 35 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes at camp for displaced in Gaza's Rafah

26 May 2024 21:25 BST

At least 35 Palestinians were killed and dozens of others wounded after a number of Israeli air strikes hit a camp for the displaced in Gaza's Rafah which set their tents on fire, a civil emergency official told Reuters.

The strike took place in Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood in western Rafah, where thousands of people were taking shelter after many fled the eastern areas of the city where Israeli forces began a ground offensive over two weeks ago.

The strikes "led to the death of 35 martyrs and dozens of injured", the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza said in a statement late on Sunday, with Gaza's civil defence agency also confirming Israeli strikes on the area, where it said 100,000 displaced people live.

The civil defence agency said at least 50 people had been killed and wounded in the strikes.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri described the attack in Rafah as a "massacre", holding the United States responsible for aiding Israel with weapons and money.

"The air strikes burnt the tents, the tents are melting and the people's bodies are also melting," said one of the residents who arrived at the Kuwaiti hospital in Rafah.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said its field hospital in Rafah was receiving an influx of casualties, and that other hospitals also were taking in a large number of patients.

A final death toll at Tal al-Sultan camp is still being determined, another medic said, adding that dozens were injured by the fire that ensued after the strikes, which residents are still trying to put out.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.