Hamas Leaders Killed in Rafah Airstrike Following Rockets Fired at Central Israel, IDF Confirms

May 27, 2024 TruthUSA

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 35 people died and numerous others were wounded in the IDF airstrikes on Rafah.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported on Sunday that two senior Hamas operatives were killed in their airstrikes on Rafah. This action was in response to a series of rockets launched by Hamas that triggered alarms across central Israel.

The IDF confirmed that their aircraft targeted a Hamas facility in Rafah, resulting in the deaths of Yassin Rabia, the Hamas chief of staff for the West Bank, and Khaled Nagar, a high-ranking member of the West Bank division.

Both individuals were purportedly involved in financing terrorist activities in the West Bank and were connected to attacks that claimed the lives of IDF soldiers.

“The strike was carried out on legitimate targets under international law, using precise weapons and based on accurate intelligence indicating Hamas’ use of the area,” stated the IDF on social media platform X.

The Israeli military acknowledged reports of civilian casualties due to the airstrike in Rafah, noting that the incident is currently under review.

At least 35 people died and many others were injured in the IDF airstrikes on Rafah, where approximately half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are seeking refuge, as reported by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Turkey Condemns Israel Over Rafah Invasion

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the IDF strikes on Rafah and pledged that Turkey would hold the Israeli perpetrators accountable.

“This massacre, which occurred after the International Court of Justice’s call to cease attacks, once again revealed the brutal nature of the terrorist state,” Mr. Erdogan expressed on X.

Prior to the assault, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) based in the Netherlands had urged the Israeli government to immediately stop “its military operation and any other actions” in Rafah.

In a ruling dated May 24, the ICJ stated that the recent Israeli actions in Rafah “could result in Gaza’s Palestinian group facing living conditions that might lead to its total or partial physical destruction.”

This ICJ ruling came after South Africa requested the court modify its January directive for the Israeli government to take measures to prevent harm to civilians in light of ongoing military operations in the Gaza Strip.

People sit inside the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, on Jan. 11, 2024. (Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters)

The South African government had contended that the Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip could amount to acts of genocide against the Palestinian populace, and had requested an ICJ-mandated ceasefire across the territory, a plea that was denied in the January order.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Rafah as one of the final bastions of Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist organization responsible for extensive attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023. Netanyahu emphasized the necessity of a full-scale operation in the city to achieve his wartime objective of eradicating Hamas.

However, President Joe Biden’s administration and other international observers have cautioned against extensive operations in Rafah without a plan to safeguard the civilian population residing there.

Hamas militants killed around 1,200 individuals and took over 250 hostages during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. This led to an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza, resulting in over 36,000 deaths according to reports from the Hamas-run health department. This casualty count includes both combatants and non-combatants.

Ryan Morgan contributed to this report.

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