May 26, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has moved here.

At least 35 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a camp for displaced people in Rafah on Sunday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Palestinian medics, shortly after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets at Tel Aviv for the first time in months.

Gazan authorities and medics say the attack hit a displacement camp that had been designated by Israel as a "safe zone." The Israel Defense Forces(IDF) said the bombardment hit a militant compound in the area, killing two senior Hamas officials.

Videos shared on social media show a large fire at the site, which included a large container used as a shelter for dozens of families, surrounded by hundreds of tents.

Below are the latest updates:

• Horror in Rafah: Gaza's Health Ministry said those killed and wounded in the strike were mostly women and children. Video obtained by CNN shows tent-like structures on fire. The Palestinian Authority presidency urged the international community to intervene immediately. Hamas described the attack as a "massacre" and said it holds the US administration and President Joe Biden personally accountable. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) expressed horror following the airstrike, saying it "shows once again that nowhere is safe."
• Hamas officials killed: The Israeli military said two senior Hamas officials were killed in the Rafah strike, which it said was "based on precise intelligence." The IDF said it killed Yassin Rabia, who it said was the commander of Hamas' leadership in Judea and Samaria, and Khaled Nagar, who it said was a senior official in the Hamas wing for the same regions. It said the strikes, including the harm to civilians, are now under review.
• Rockets fired: The Rafah attack came after sirens sounded across Tel Aviv and other parts of central Israel on Sunday, with the IDF saying eight rockets were fired from the Rafah area and had crossed into Israel. It marks the first time rockets have been fired at the city since late January. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack and the IDF said "a number of projectiles" were intercepted.
• Strike on Jabalya: An Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza city of Jabalya killed at least four people Sunday, according to medics at the scene. Four others were injured and many are still unaccounted for after the strike hit a residential building in the Al-Nazla neighborhood. A journalist said Jabalya witnessed an intense night of airstrikes and shelling, and that during the day, many fires were raging throughout the area. 
• Aid trucks: Israeli military officials said 360 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday following security checks. This includes 126 trucks from Egypt that crossed into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, the IDF said.  Aid workers and United Nations officials have repeatedly warned that the dire humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza is due in large part to Israel's tight restriction of ground deliveries into the enclave.
• Hostage talks: Negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire and hostage swap deal are set to resume in Cairo on Tuesday, according to an Egyptian official. Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled for months, with both parties failing to reach an agreement over differences on key demands. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed strong opposition the demands made by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

At least 35 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a camp for displaced people in Rafah on Sunday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Palestinian medics.

Videos shared on social media show a large fire at the site, with paramedics and firefighters struggling to manage the strike's aftermath. The area targeted included a large container used as a shelter for dozens of families, surrounded by hundreds of tents.

The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas compound in the area, killing two senior officials from the militant group.

Here's what to know about the strike:

• Strike hit "safe zone": Gazan authorities and the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said the area targeted had been designated by Israel as a "safe zone" in Tal al-Sultan, northwest of Rafah. "The Israeli occupation army had designated these areas as safe zones, calling on citizens and displaced persons to head to these safe areas," the Gaza government media office said. When displaced people sought refuge, they came under attack, the office said.
• Rocket attack: The attack in Rafah comes after Hamas launched rockets at Tel Aviv for the first time in months, according to the Israeli military, with sirens sounding in Tel Aviv and parts of central Israel on Sunday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that eight rockets were fired from the Rafah area, and “a number of projectiles” had been intercepted. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
• What the IDF said: The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas compound in Rafah and that it used "precise munitions" based on "intelligence that indicated Hamas' use of the area." The IDF said it killed Yassin Rabia, who was the commander of Hamas' leadership in Judea and Samaria, and Khaled Nagar, who it said was a senior official in the Hamas wing for the same regions. It said the strikes, including the harm to civilians, are now under review.
• Casualties: Those killed and wounded were mostly women and children, Gaza's Health Ministry said, adding that no hospital in Rafah had the capacity to take the number of casualties. The PRCS said its ambulance crews were transporting a large number of people following the attack. And the Palestinian Emergency Committee in Rafah said dozens of people were killed in the attack on tents as fires broke out. Video obtained by CNN shows tent-like structures on fire.
• What Hamas said: Hamas described the attack as a "massacre" and said it holds the US administration and President Joe Biden personally accountable. It said Israel would not have carried out the strikes "without American support and the green light for it to invade Rafah, despite its overcrowding with displaced citizens." Hamas called for immediate international intervention.
• "Nowhere is safe": Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), expressed horror at the strike, saying it "shows once again that nowhere is safe." The humanitarian group reiterated its call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority presidency urged the international community to intervene immediately against what he called crimes against the Palestinian people.
• ICJ ruling: The Rafah strike comes days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah. The court considers the humanitarian situation in the city to be classified as “disastrous,” the ICJ president said, adding that UN officials have indicated that the situation was set to “intensify even further” if the Israeli operation in Rafah continues. The court also ordered Israel to open the Rafah crossing for humanitarian assistance.
• Remember: Over a million Palestinians — many already displaced by Israel's offensive in other parts of the enclave — had been sheltering in Rafah before Israel began its operations there. Many have now fled, but say they have nowhere safe to go. Israel's actions in Rafah have served as a flashpoint for the unprecedented level of diplomatic pressure it is now facing over the war in Gaza.

Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has expressed horror following an Israeli airstrike in Rafah that killed at least 35 people on Sunday night, according to Gaza's health ministry.

MSF said in a statement that the attack "shows once again that nowhere is safe."

"Dozens of wounded and more than 15 dead people were brought to the trauma stabilization point that we support," MSF added. 

The humanitarian group reiterated its call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza.

What officials have said so far: The Israeli military said it was targeting a Hamas compound in Rafah and killed two senior Hamas officials in the strike. It also acknowledged reports of a fire breaking out and harm to civilians in the area, saying the incident is under review.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society and Gaza officials say the strike hit a camp for displaced people, which had been designated a "safe zone." Video obtained by CNN shows tent-like structures on fire.

A spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority presidency described the incident as a "massacre" and urged the international community to intervene immediately against what he called crimes against the Palestinian people. He also criticized the US for what he said is failing to hold its ally Israel accountable

Remember: Over a million Palestinians — many already displaced by Israel's offensive in other parts of the enclave — had been sheltering in Rafah before Israel began its operations there. Many have now fled, but say they have nowhere safe to go.

Israel's actions in Rafah have served as a flashpoint for the unprecedented level of diplomatic pressure it is now facing over the war in Gaza.

The Israeli military claims to have killed two senior Hamas officials in its strike on Rafah on Sunday.

The Israel Defense Forces identified the individuals as Yassin Rabia, who it said was the commander of Hamas' leadership in Judea and Samaria, and Khaled Nagar, who it said was a senior official in the Hamas wing for the same regions.

The military said it made the strike on Tal al-Sultan in northwest Rafah "based on precise intelligence." It said earlier Sunday that it had struck a Hamas compound in the area.

The IDF also repeated its early statement that it is aware of reports indicating the strike harmed civilians, and that the strikes are under review.

What officials in Gaza are saying: The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said 35 people were killed in the attack and dozens more injured, and that most of them were women and children.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society and Gaza government media officials have said the civilian area hit was a camp for displaced people.

Video obtained by CNN shows tent-like structures on fire. Video from PRCS also show medics walking through a tent, with one PRCS staff member carrying a child.

The Gaza government media office and the Palestinian Emergency Committee in Rafah have condemned the attack, saying the area had been designated a "safe zone" for civilians.

The death toll from Israel's strike in Rafah on Sunday is now at least 35, with dozens more injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

The ministry said those killed and injured are mostly women and children.

CNN cannot independently verify death tolls provided by the ministry due to the lack of international media access in the war zone.

"There is no hospital in Rafah with enough capacity to take this number of killed and injured, causing confusion among ambulance teams on where to transfer them," the ministry in a previous statement.

Gaza officials and the Palestine Red Crescent society have said the area that was hit is a camp for displaced people. The Israeli military claims it targeted a Hamas compound in Rafah. It said it was aware of reports of civilian harm, and that the incident is under review.

Videos shared on social media show a large fire at the site, with paramedics and firefighters struggling to manage the aftermath. The area targeted included a large container used as a shelter for dozens of families, surrounded by hundreds of tents.

Israeli military officials said 360 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday following security checks.

This includes 126 trucks from Egypt that crossed into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. The US, Israel and Egypt coordinated on the crossing of the aid trucks.

"The aid trucks that arrived from the Rafah Crossing on the Egyptian side contained food, water, fuel, medical equipment, medicine and equipment for shelters," the IDF said, "All of the humanitarian aid was transferred to the Gaza Strip after security checks by personnel of the the Ministry of Defense Land Crossings Authority at the Kerem Shalom Crossing."

In a phone call on Friday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and US President Joe Biden agreed to facilitate the delivery of United Nations-provided humanitarian aid from Egypt through the Kerem Shalom crossing on a temporary basis, until the Rafah crossing could reopen from the Palestinian side, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

Remember: Aid workers and United Nations officials have repeatedly warned that the dire humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza is due in large part to Israel's tight restriction of ground deliveries into the enclave, which has been exacerbated by the closing of the Rafah crossing with Egypt.

At least 30 people were killed by Israeli strikes on a camp for displaced people in the southernmost city of Rafah on Sunday, the Gaza government media office said.

Videos shared on social media show a large fire at the site, with paramedics and firefighters struggling to manage the aftermath. The area targeted included a large container used as a shelter for dozens of families, surrounded by hundreds of tents.

"The Israeli occupation army had designated these areas as safe zones, calling on citizens and displaced persons to head to these safe areas," the government office said, adding that when displaced people sought refuge, they came under attack.

That echoed criticism from the Palestinian Emergency Committee in Rafah, which said the Israel Defense Forces had claimed the area struck was a "safe zone."

What the IDF has said: The Israeli military claimed in a statement that it struck "a compound in Rafah in which significant Hamas terrorists were operating," and said it is aware of reports of civilian harm following the strike and fire.

It said one of its aircraft used "precise munitions" to strike the target based on "intelligence that indicated Hamas' use of the area."

It said the strikes, including the harm to civilians, are now under review.

Earlier Sunday, Hamas fired rockets at Tel Aviv for the first time in months. The Israeli military said the rockets were fired from Rafah.

Hamas response: Hamas issued a statement holding the US administration and President Joe Biden personally accountable for the attack.

It said Israel would not have carried out the strikes "without American support and the green light for it to invade Rafah, despite its overcrowding with displaced citizens."

Hamas called for immediate international intervention, urging the swift implementation of decisions by the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah.

Remember: Over a million Palestinians — many already displaced by Israel's offensive in other parts of the enclave — had been sheltering in Rafah before Israel began its operations there. Many have now fled, but say they have nowhere safe to go.

Israel's actions in Rafah have served as a flashpoint for the unprecedented level of diplomatic pressure it is now facing over the war in Gaza.

An Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza city of Jabalya killed at least four people Sunday, medics at the scene told a journalist working for CNN.

Four others were injured and many are still unaccounted for after the strike hit a residential building in the Al-Nazla neighborhood, according to the medics.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

The journalist said Jabalya witnessed an intense night of airstrikes and shelling, and that during the day, many fires were raging throughout the area. 

Video obtained by CNN shows people digging through rubble and removing debris near a collapsed building. The group appears to pull a toddler from beneath the rubble, but it is unclear whether the child is alive.

Video shows aftermath of the strike:

"We are working with very limited resources," said Hussein Mehisen, the director of Gaza Ambulance Services. "We call upon the international community and humanitarian agencies to salvage the health sector in Gaza."

Mehisen said the wounded had to be taken to other medical centers while nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital remains under Israeli siege.

Ibrahim Abdel Khaleq Khella, the brother of the owner of the house that was struck, said there are still women and children under the rubble that the Palestinian Civil Defence is trying to rescue.

"There were at least 20 people in that building. Many were retrieved from the rubble," he said. "This is not the first time our family is targeted. My own house was hit. My brother Mahmoud’s house was hit, killing 20 and injuring 10. My cousins’ place at the back — which were two houses on the same street — were hit. To this day, their bodies are still under the rubble, we couldn’t get them out."

At a news conference on Sunday, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the military is fighting "against terrorist targets" in Jabalya, and claimed they had found many weapons and relevant documents stored inside buildings there.