Overstretched medical teams in Rafah had a bloody morning treating casualties from Israel’s overnight shelling.

Israeli fighter planes backed by tank fire pounded the town as the violence continues to escalate.

“Suddenly, we started to run after hearing the shelling. I went toward my brother’s house, all his family were dead around the house. They were all killed. Nine or ten people were killed,” said a Palestinian civilian in Rafah.

Khan Younis also came under a nocturnal raid: “There was no warning, they didn’t tell anyone to leave the house. They didn’t tell anyone to leave. 25 people lived in the house, all of them are now dead,” said one man whose neighbourhood was attacked.

Diplomatic attempts by the US, the UN, France, Egypt and Qatar, including calls from the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire, have so far fallen of deaf ears.

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