Israeli warplanes pounded the northern Gaza strip for a second day on Wednesday in a fierce assault that has shattered weeks of comparative calm, and Israel said it was moving forward with plans for an all-out assault on Rafah in the south.
Israel's military said Thursday its forces carried out airstrikes on more than 30 targets in the Gaza Strip in the past day, while Gaza hospital officials said an Israeli strike killed at least five people in the southern city of Rafah.
Palestinians on Thursday mourned over people killed in Israeli bombardment of Rafah, the southern Gaza city where Israel says it is advancing plans for a ground invasion.Global concern has mounted over the looming operation against Hamas militants in Rafah,
Israel's military is poised to evacuate Palestinian civilians from Rafah and assault Hamas hold-outs in the southern Gaza Strip city, a senior Israeli defence official said on Wednesday, despite international warnings of humanitarian catastrophe.
Wednesday’s announcement came as Israel prepared for a ground invasion of Rafah, the southern Gaza city that Israel says is Hamas’ last major stronghold.
Israel said Wednesday it is "moving ahead" with its planned operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, despite international outcry over fears for the 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering there. Red Cross official Fabrizio Carboni said humanitarian groups had no knowledge of reported plans to move Rafah's residents away from the city ahead of the assault.