Fighting continues in the Gaza Strip today, the day after the first resolution from the United Nations Security Council called for an "immediate ceasefire" between Hamas and Israel. Israel quickly expressed its displeasure towards its American ally for not voting against the resolution, as it has repeatedly done since the war erupted over five months ago.
Early today, eyewitnesses reported to Agence France-Presse that several airstrikes targeted areas near Rafah, the city located at the southernmost tip of the Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt, which has seen its population increase fivefold since the war began. Eyewitnesses also reported that intense clashes occurred in the Rimal neighborhood, the Beach Camp, and Tel al-Hawa in Gaza City, as well as in and around Khan Younis.
According to the media office of Hamas, Israel launched dozens of airstrikes in Gaza, Rafah, Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis, al-Maghazi, and Beit Lahia late Monday, alongside heavy artillery shelling targeting various areas in the Strip.
Rafah, which has become a refuge for more than a million displaced people due to the war, is now under threat of a large-scale ground operation being prepared by Israel, raising international concerns about the dangers to the packed Palestinian civilians there. Early today, sirens were heard in Israeli towns close to the Gaza Strip, as well as in the northern part of the state, according to the Israeli army.
