Israeli forces killed at least seven people, including a child, in Rafah, in the latest deadly attack on Palestinians struggling to survive in the largest city in the southern Gaza Strip.
An Israeli airstrike on Saturday hit a residential building belonging to the Shahin family, which was housing displaced people from the Abu Hamra and Abu Sultan families, Palestinian state news agency Wafa reported.
The airstrike hit a busy road leading to a market, causing extensive destruction to buildings and cars, according to Al Jazeera's team in Rafah. Bodies were seen scattered on the road, among the victims women, children and the elderly.
“My mother… my father… They fled Khan Younis to save their lives,” one man told Al Jazeera. “I brought them here to take refuge in my house… They escaped death in Khan Younis to die at my hands… How can I live after them?
Addressing the Israeli forces, he said: “Kill me so I can join them.”
Another man told Al Jazeera he was walking with friends towards Al Awda hospital when suddenly there was “a massive explosion”.
“I was thrown into the air and I saw everyone around me flying, others torn to pieces,” he said. “I passed out and woke up here in the hospital. Israeli fighter jets fired a missile at a residential building in a busy area; hundreds walking down the street, trying to get some food.”
“The Israeli occupation forces have no mercy; They have no mercy for the young or the old, for women or for babies,” he added. “Israelis do not respect any laws or human rights. They lost their humanity; attacking innocent displaced civilians; killing everyone, women and children, for revenge.”
“The missile reached 20 meters [66 feet] of me and I miraculously survived by the grace of God.”
Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Rafah, said the victims have been transferred to Yusuf al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah.
“The area shook as if an earthquake had hit it; There was total destruction and fire everywhere,” he said.
“Cars were incinerated and people on the sidewalks were seriously injured. They also pulled the victims out from under the rubble of the building.
“Seven people were reported dead, five of whom have been identified. Two of them could not be identified because they were cremated beyond recognition.”
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, Israeli forces committed eight “massacres against families” in the Gaza Strip, killing 92 people in the last 24 hours.
The ministry added that Israeli forces have prevented ambulances and civil defense teams from reaching victims buried under rubble and lying on roads.
Israel has battered the Gaza Strip since the October 7 cross-border attack by Hamas, killing more than 29,600 Palestinians and causing mass destruction and shortages of essential items. Nearly 70,000 people have been injured in the besieged enclave.
About 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
According to the UN, severe food insecurity is at a catastrophic level across the Gaza Strip, with increasing reports of families struggling to feed their children and an increasing risk of hunger-related deaths in the area. north of the strip.
“The risk of famine in Gaza increases day by day, particularly for some 300,000 people in northern Gaza, who have been largely cut off from assistance and where food security assessments show the greatest needs,” according to the Global Program food.
“Talks are moving forward”
With more Palestinians dying each day of Israel's war on Gaza, negotiations for a ceasefire agreement have continued.
Israel's war cabinet will meet on Saturday to receive a briefing from negotiators who held talks in Paris with representatives of the United States, Israel, Egypt and Qatar about a possible truce, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's national security adviser said.
Tzachi Hanegbi told Israel's Channel 12 that the cabinet meeting “demonstrates that [the negotiators] “He did not return empty-handed.”
Earlier on Saturday reports emerged that a new draft for a captive deal had been agreed at the Paris meeting.
The updated outline proposes that Hamas release about 40 captives held in Gaza in exchange for a six-week ceasefire and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, sources told Axios.
The talks included CIA Director Bill Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Abbas Kamel, director of Egyptian intelligence.
The Israeli delegation included the director of Mossad, Shin Bet and Israeli forces intelligence, who will brief the war cabinet later on Saturday or Sunday.
If the cabinet approves the new proposal, follow-up meetings will be held in the coming days.
Axios reported that Biden administration officials said they want to try to reach a deal before the start of Ramadan on March 10.
According to a source cited by Israeli media, further details of the negotiations, such as the number and identity of the prisoners to be released, still depend on Qatari and Egyptian negotiators getting Hamas to also accept the new proposal.
A foreign diplomat told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that “the talks are progressing” and as “all parties are showing flexibility, an agreement can be reached sooner.” [the holy month of] Ramadan.”
“Any further progress is in the hands of Hamas,” he said.
