Palestinians search for survivors after an Israeli airstrike on a residential building In Rafah, Gaza Strip, Feb 10, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

GAZA/BAGHDAD/AMMAN/BEIRUT – At least 25 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli bombing of a house in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah on Sunday, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. 

Many displaced people were living in the house at the time of the bombing, and dozens of others were injured, said the report.

"Israeli bombings have escalated in recent hours in Rafah, paving the way for a military operation in the city," Mayor of Rafah Ahmed Al-Sufi said on Saturday.

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He called on the international community to take action to prevent Israel from carrying out a military offensive in the city, which is currently inhabited by more than 1.4 million Palestinians, stressing that any military action would lead to a "massacre" and a bloodbath.

Israeli bombings have escalated in recent hours in Rafah, paving the way for a military operation in the city.

Ahmed Al-Sufi, Mayor of Rafah

Al-Sufi added that "the situation in Rafah is currently tragic, especially since the aid that enters through the Rafah crossing is only sufficient for 10 percent of the city's population. If this continues, we will be on the verge of a famine."

The Hamas-run government media office also warned of a "global catastrophe" if Israel carries out a military operation in Rafah.

"We hold the US administration, the international community, and Israel fully responsible, if the Israeli army attacked the city," the office said in a press statement, calling on the UN Security Council to convene immediately and adopt a resolution that would oblige Israel to stop.

The number of displaced people fleeing to Rafah increased significantly after the Israeli army launched one of its largest and most violent attacks a few weeks ago on the southern city of Khan Younis, adjacent to Rafah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday instructed the army to prepare plans for a ground operation in Rafah, the southernmost Gazan city to which over half of the 2.3 million Gaza residents fled during the conflict.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza on Oct 7 last year, about half of the residents there have fled to Rafah, adjacent to Egypt, in search of safety.

The number of displaced residents has grown after the Israeli army launched one of its largest attacks on Khan Younis, adjacent to Rafah, weeks ago.

The border city, which receives food and medicine aid from foreign countries and UN agencies through the Rafah crossing, is crowded with tents on empty agricultural lands, in schools and along roadsides. 

This satellite image provided by Planet Labs PBC shows the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Jan 14, 2024. The town is normally home to 280,000 people. But its population has swelled to over 1.5 million – roughly three quarters of Gaza's population – as people flee fighting elsewhere in Gaza. Sprawling tent camps now dot the city. (PLANET LABS PBC VIA AP)

Iraq seeks global intervention

Urging the international community to thwart the Israeli plan to launch a military operation in Rafah, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said on Saturday such an operation would lead to "a new humanitarian catastrophe and massacre" in Rafah.

The ministry also reiterated the need to stop military operations against the Palestinians and to provide humanitarian aid to them.

Jordan cautions of danger

On Saturday, Jordan's Foreign Ministry warned of the danger of military operations by the Israeli army in Rafah.

Sufian Qudah, the ministry's spokesperson, reiterated the kingdom's rejection of the displacement of Palestinians within or outside their land, and stressed the necessity of ending the war and reaching an immediate ceasefire to ensure the protection of civilians, their return to their homes, and the delivery of aid to all parts of the territory.

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Qudah also called on the international community to fulfill its responsibilities and take immediate and effective action to prevent Israel from escalating its attacks, which have caused an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in the enclave.

A Palestinian salvages belongings after an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Feb 10, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

Israeli airstrike kills 2 in Lebanon

Two people were killed and three others injured on Saturday as a result of an Israeli airstrike in Jadra, a Lebanese town about 65 kilometers away from the country's border with Israel, Lebanese security sources said.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a Palestinian official from the Hamas movement survived two missiles fired by an Israeli drone at his car, which was heading from the southern Lebanese city of Sidon to the capital Beirut.

The raid killed a Lebanese and a Syrian and wounded three others, including one in critical condition. The injured people have been transferred to a hospital in Sidon, the sources said refusing to name the targeted Palestinian figure.