Gazans say dozens killed in Rafah strikes as Israel resists calls to end war

Rafah, Palestinian Territories — Gaza officials said Israeli strikes on a center for displaced people killed dozens near the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday, as Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu said he «strongly opposes» ending the war in the territory.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said in a statement that the strikes «claimed the lives of 35 martyrs and left dozens injured, most of them children and women.»

The Hamas-run government media office in Gaza earlier said the strike hit a center run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees near Rafah, branding it a «horrific massacre.»

The Israeli army said early Monday that it had launched strikes on a Rafah compound in which «significant Hamas terrorists were operating.»

It added that it was «aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited, several civilians in the area were harmed. The incident is under review.»

Earlier Sunday, Israel's army said at least eight rockets were fired towards central areas of the country from Rafah, with strikes targeting the commercial hub of Tel Aviv for the first time in months.

Fighting has recently centered on Rafah, where Israel's military launched a ground operation in early May despite widespread opposition over concerns for civilians sheltering there.

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The Palestinian Red Crescent said its ambulance crews transported «a large number» of people killed and injured in the Rafah strikes.

The Palestinian presidency in the West Bank called it a «heinous massacre», accusing Israeli forces of «deliberately targeting» the tents of displaced people.

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli strikes killed and wounded at least 50 people in the area, where it said 100,000 displaced people live.

Hamas said Palestinians must «rise up and march» against the Israeli army's «massacre» in Rafah.

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Netanyahu vowed to pursue the offensive, ahead of a war cabinet meeting amid intense diplomacy to forge a truce and a hostage-release deal.

He has long rejected Hamas's demand for a permanent end to the conflict triggered by the Palestinian militant group's October 7 attack.

A senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of