JERUSALEM: The armed wing of Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Sunday claimed responsibility for an attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza. Reports from both Israeli and Palestinian media outlets suggest that the attack resulted in casualties on the Israeli side.
According to Israel’s military, the attack involved the launching of 10 projectiles from Rafah in southern Gaza towards the vicinity of the crossing. Consequently, the Kerem Shalom crossing has been closed to aid trucks entering the coastal enclave, although other crossings remain operational.
The armed wing of Hamas stated that it had fired rockets at an Israeli army base near the crossing. However, the group did not confirm the exact location from where the rockets were launched. A source close to Hamas, as cited by Palestinian media, clarified that the commercial crossing was not the intended target.
Rafah, situated near the border with Egypt, is currently hosting over a million Palestinians seeking shelter.
Following the attack by Hamas, an Israeli airstrike targeted a house in Rafah, resulting in the deaths of three Palestinian civilians and injuries to several others, as reported by Palestinian medics. The Israeli military confirmed the counter-strike.
Israel has reiterated its intention to enter the southern Gaza city of Rafah and eliminate Hamas forces, despite growing pressure to exercise restraint due to concerns about jeopardizing humanitarian efforts in Gaza and putting civilian lives at risk.
The attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing comes at a time when prospects for ceasefire talks in Cairo appear bleak.
More than 34,600 Palestinians have been killed, 29 of them in the past 24 hours, and more than 78,000 have been wounded in Israel’s assault, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
