Israeli Invasion to Eastern Rafah Faces with Fierce Resistance of Hamas

Israeli tanks seal off the southern city of Rafah from the south and complete the encirclement of eastern Rafah where 100,000 displaced Palestinian residents evacuated the past week.

Until Saturday, At least 34,943 people have been killed and 78,572 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. 

In the past 24 hours, the Palestinian state news agency Wafa reports that dozens of people have been killed in attacks on Gaza, including local journalist Bahaa Okasha, who died along with his wife and son in an Israeli attack on their home in the Jabalia refugee camp.

Wafa reports that at least 10 people were killed and many injured, including children, in an Israeli bombardment of a house belonging to the al-Khatib family in central Gaza’s az-Zawayda town.

In eastern Rafah, Gaza resistance groups attacked Israeli advancing troops at least 17 times in the Zeitoun neighborhood on Friday.

According to US War monitor groups the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP), Hamas fighters used sniper rifles, mortars, and rocket-propelled grenades in the 17 attacks as Israeli forces attempted to clear Zeitoun for a third time.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Civil Defence in northern Gaza has accused Israeli forces of “massacring” civilians in attacks on at least three homes in the Beit Lahiya and Jabalia refugee camp areas.

Director of Civil Defence in the north, Ahmed al-Kahlot, told Al Jazeera Arabic that rescue crews are still trying to retrieve people from beneath the rubble of the three homes that were destroyed in overnight bombings.

Israeli warplanes and artillery have also pounded central and eastern areas of southern Rafah city, which is reported to be now encircled by Israel’s military as a long-feared ground operation ramps up.

Casualties were also reported following Israeli attacks on Gaza City in the north, including on the home of the Siam family, located in the old town areas of the city.

Al Jazeera Arabic has also reported three people killed and a number wounded in Gaza City’s Sabra and Zeitoun neighborhoods.