The spokesperson for Civil Defense, Mahmoud Basal, told the media: “Five citizens, including two children, were killed and others were injured with varying degrees of severity due to Israeli rocket shelling” in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Yunis. The authority added that the shelling occurred near the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in Khan Yunis and targeted a camp for displaced persons. The hospital reported that the victims included two children aged 8 and 10 years, and that 32 other individuals were injured.
The Israeli forces stated in an earlier statement on Wednesday that a military force encountered a number of militants during an operation east of Rafah, who “emerged from underground terrorist infrastructure.” The statement added that an Israeli soldier was seriously injured, while two other soldiers and a non-commissioned officer sustained moderate injuries. They were evacuated to the hospital and their families were notified. The second military statement did not clarify the nature of the fifth soldier’s injury.
The Israeli army stated on Sunday that it had killed individuals in operations targeting tunnels near Rafah, where dozens of Hamas fighters are entrenched in the tunnel network. The war in Gaza erupted following a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the death of 1,221 people in Israel. Conversely, the Israeli attack led to the death of 70,117 people in the sector, according to figures from the Ministry of Health in Gaza. The ministry states that 360 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the start of the truce, while the Israeli army announced the death of three soldiers during the same period.
