Israeli airstrikes in Rafah result in 15 fatalities and many injuries

13 people were murdered and several more were injured by Israeli airstrikes on three residences in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, according to medical reports on Monday.
15 people have been reported dead by Hamas media channels.

Health authorities said that Israeli jets targeted two residences in Gaza City, in the northern part of the strip, killing and injuring many people.

The attacks on Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge after months of Israeli shelling, occurred only hours before leaders of the Islamist organization Hamas were scheduled to visit Egypt to negotiate the possibility of an agreement on a truce with Israel.

According to Israeli estimates, an assault on Israel on October 7 by Hamas terrorists resulted in 1,200 deaths and the kidnapping of 253 hostages, starting the conflict.
In a military campaign that has claimed the lives of over 34,000 Palestinians—66 of them in the last 24 hours—Israel has pledged to destroy Hamas, the organization in charge of Gaza. The majority of the 2.3 million people have been forced to flee, and the majority of the enclave has been destroyed.

Hamas authorities said on Sunday that a team headed by deputy Gaza commander Khalil Al-Hayya will talk about Israel’s reaction to a ceasefire plan that Hamas presented to mediators from Qatar and Egypt. As Israel poised to assault Rafah, mediators—supported by the US—stepped up their attempts to reach a settlement.

Although a source knowledgeable on the discussions told Reuters that Hamas is likely to react to Israel’s most recent ceasefire request, which was given on Saturday, two Hamas officials who talked with Reuters declined to provide specifics of the most recent plans.
According to the source, this included an agreement to a second phase of a truce that includes a “period of sustained calm”—Israel’s compromise response to a demand by Hamas for an ongoing ceasefire—and to accept the release of fewer than 40 hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails.

According to the source, Israel would allow unrestricted travel between the south and north of Gaza after the first phase and would partially remove its forces from the region.
According to a senior Hamas source who spoke to Reuters, the Hamas team and the Egyptian and Qatari mediators will meet on Monday in Cairo to speak about the comments the organization made about the Israeli reaction to their latest offering.

“Hamas has some questions and inquires over the Israeli response to its proposal, which the movement received from mediators on Friday,” the source told Reuters.

According to such remarks, Hamas may not immediately respond to mediators on Israel’s most recent proposal.