Rafah becoming focal point of Israel's massacres in Gaza Strip

During the past 24 hours, the southern city of Rafah has become a focal point of massacres by the Israeli army of Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave, according to Palestinian medical and security sources.

"The Israeli army killed at least 22 Palestinians, including women and children, in Rafah after attacking three residential houses in the city," the Palestinian health ministry said in a press statement sent to The New Arab. 

Om Mohammed Abu Taha's entire ten-member family were killed by an airstrike by the Israeli army on their home while they were sleeping. 

"When I heard the heavy explosion in our city, I felt my heart break without knowing what was happening to my family," the 25-year-old mother of two said to TNA. 

"Later, my husband told me that the army attacked my parents' house, and there were some injuries (...)  I did not believe his words as I felt that I lost my family and I will never see them once again," she said. 

The young woman was rushed to the Kuwait hospital in the city to say farewell to her family. However, she could not see them as their corpses were cut up into pieces of body parts by the airstrike, making it difficult to identify who was who. 

"Until when do we have to stay under the Israeli crimes and massacres? Where is the world? Where are the human rights organisations? Where are the Arab countries, and where are the human beings around the world?" she cried out.  

"It seems that the world has become accustomed to watching the killing in Gaza without doing anything, and Israel is coercing the defenceless civilians here day after day and forcing them to pay the price of the war," Ismail Taha, Om Mohammed's cousin, said to TNA. 

The 22 victims from Rafah were out of a total of 34 Palestinians killed by the Israeli army in various attacks overnight, the ministry added, pointing out that "the army committed three massacres in the territory". 

The new casualties brought the total death toll to 34,488 and injuries to 77,643 since the launch of Israel's bloody war on Gaza and with Hamas, the Islamist group ruling Gaza, seven months ago, the ministry explained.