The head of Israel’s National Security Council says that ‘the fight in Gaza may continue for the next seven months’ to eliminate Hamas. Tzachi Hanegbi said in a radio interview on Israeli station Reshet Bet on Wednesday, ‘It was said in the early days of presenting plans in the cabinet that the war would last long.’
Amidst the war between Israel and Hamas, the world is watching the devastation of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Recently, many countries criticized Israel for attacking the refugee camp. Later, Israeli PM Netanyahu called it a ‘tragic mistake’ in Parliament. The scenes after Israel’s air strike on Rafah can be seen in satellite images.
45 people killed in Israeli attack
Rafah before and after the Israeli air strike can be seen in satellite images released by Maxar Technologies on Wednesday. The attack on Sunday, May 26, caused a fire in a refugee camp in which 45 people were killed. Israel said that it had targeted two notorious Hamas terrorists in a compound and did not intend to harm civilians.
Most of those killed in the Israeli attack were children and women. Maxar Technologies also released pictures of the Kerem Shalom border crossing, where on Friday, May 24, Egypt had committed to temporarily allow humanitarian aid provided by the United Nations to reach Gaza.
Claims to occupy strategic area on Egypt border
According to the BBC report, the Israeli army claims that it has gained control of a strategic area on the border between Gaza and Egypt, known as the ‘Philadelphi Corridor’. A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said that about 20 tunnels used by Hamas to smuggle weapons into Gaza have been found here.
An Egyptian TV channel rejected these claims and quoted sources as saying that Israel is trying to justify its military operations in Rafah. Egypt had earlier said that it had destroyed cross-border tunnels, making it unlikely that any weapons could be smuggled.
Refugee camp has been targeted before too
However, this is not the first time Israel has targeted a refugee camp. On May 24, the Israeli army also bombed tents and refugee camps near Khan Younis. According to the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza and the Kuwait Hospital in Rafah, two children were killed and several others were injured in an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Shaboura refugee camp in southern Gaza city on May 2.