Israel attacks Rafah in Gaza Strip, 7 killed

Tel Aviv, Apr 17 (IANS): The Israel Air Force has attacked a building in Rafah in southern Gaza, killing seven people.

According to Israeli media, the attack occurred early Wednesday morning.

The US and other allies of Israel had asked Israel not to attack Rafah as there was a high civilian population of around 1.3 million people living in the area.

The Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi had informed the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken during his visit to Egypt that an Israeli attack on Rafah must be prevented.

Egypt is concerned that an attack on Rafah would lead to an exodus of refugees to the Sinai region of Egypt that is sharing the border with Rafah.

Since the ground invasion of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) into Gaza on October 27, 2023, after the Hamas attack of October 7 last year, more than 33,000 Palestinians were killed.

An IDF ground invasion in Rafah would lead to heavy casualties and the US was not convinced by Israel's plan to evacuate civilians, including women and children, during the military operation.

The Israeli intelligence agencies, including Mossad and Shin Bet, have informed the Israeli war cabinet of the presence of a majority of hostages in Rafah area with Hamas militants using them as human shields.