Israel Kills at Least 22 Palestinians in Rafah

A house damaged in an Israeli strike lies in ruin, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, April 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
A house damaged in an Israeli strike lies in ruin, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, April 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
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Israel Kills at Least 22 Palestinians in Rafah

A house damaged in an Israeli strike lies in ruin, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, April 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
A house damaged in an Israeli strike lies in ruin, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, April 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

Israeli airstrikes on three houses in the southern Gaza city of Rafah killed at least 22 Palestinians and wounded many others, medics said on Monday.

Israel has regularly carried out airstrikes on Rafah since the start of the war and has threatened to send in ground troops, saying Rafah is the last major Hamas stronghold in the coastal enclave. Over a million Palestinians have sought refuge in the city on the Egyptian border.

An assault on Rafah has been anticipated for weeks but foreign governments and the United Nations have expressed concern that such action could result in a humanitarian disaster given the number of displaced people crammed into the area.

The overnight strikes hit three family homes. The first killed 11 people, including four siblings aged 9 to 27, according to records at the Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital, where the bodies were taken. The second strike killed eight people, including a 33-year-old father and his 5-day-old boy, according to hospital records. The third strike killed three siblings, aged 23, 19 and 12.



US Warns Ships Against Offloading Oil in Houthi-Controlled Ports

People inspect a damaged building after a US airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen, 07 April 2025. EPA/OSAMAH YAHYA
People inspect a damaged building after a US airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen, 07 April 2025. EPA/OSAMAH YAHYA
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US Warns Ships Against Offloading Oil in Houthi-Controlled Ports

People inspect a damaged building after a US airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen, 07 April 2025. EPA/OSAMAH YAHYA
People inspect a damaged building after a US airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen, 07 April 2025. EPA/OSAMAH YAHYA

Washington has warned countries and commercial entities against providing support to Yemen’s Houthis, including offloading ships and provisioning oil at ports controlled by the militias.

“The United States will not tolerate any country or commercial entity providing support to foreign terrorist organizations, such as the Houthis, including offloading ships and provisioning oil at Houthi-controlled ports. Such actions risk violating US law,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement on Wednesday.

The State Department designated the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) on March 5, fulfilling one of President Donald Trump’s first promises upon taking office.   

As Trump laid out in Executive Order 14175, “the Houthis’ activities threaten the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade,” said Bruce in the statement.