Israeli Strikes in Rafah Trap Civilians as Gaza Death Toll Surpasses 50,000

“Tel al-Sultan is subjected to genocide as thousands of civilians, including children, women, and elderly people, remain trapped under heavy Israeli bombardment, with no means of escape,” the Rafah Municipality said in a statement.

The statement added that Palestinian families are stranded among the rubble without access to water, food, or medicine, while health services in the area have completely collapsed.

It further warned that those wounded in Israeli attacks “are left to bleed to death, while children die of hunger and thirst under siege and continuous bombardment.”

The Israeli army had ordered residents of Tel al-Sultan to evacuate on Sunday, forcing thousands to flee before launching an intensive aerial assault in the area that night. Several people were killed and injured in the attacks, according to local sources.

The ongoing Israeli military campaign has killed more than 700 Palestinians and wounded over 1,000 since it began its latest airstrikes on Gaza last Tuesday, breaking a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal that had been in place since January.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Israel refused to coordinate a rescue operation for paramedics stranded in Rafah.

“We are still awaiting a green light (from Israel) to reach out to the team in Rafah,” the organization said in a statement, adding that contact had been lost with paramedics since early Sunday after Israeli forces besieged the area during a rescue mission.

According to the aid group, several paramedics were injured, and four ambulances have been surrounded by Israeli forces since Sunday.

The latest strikes are part of a broader Israeli military offensive on Gaza that has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 113,200 since October 2023, according to the Health Ministry.

At least 61 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Monday, raising the total death toll to 50,082. The ministry reported that four bodies were recovered from the rubble in the past 24 hours, and 134 additional injured people were transferred to hospitals, bringing the total number of wounded to 113,408.

“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” the ministry said.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its ongoing military campaign in the enclave.