Israeli Airstrikes Hit Rafah, Kills Two Senior Hamas Commanders

Tel Aviv [Israel], May 27: Israel airstrikes that hit Rafah on Sunday night, killed two senior Hamas commanders after targeting a Hamas compound, reported The Times of Israel. The Israeli attack followed Hamas's first rocket attack on the Israeli city of Tel Aviv in months, reported Al Jazeera. The Israeli airstrikes claimed the lives of 35 people and two senior Hamas commanders, injuring a dozen others in a blaze caused in a camp housing displaced civilians, according to The Times of Israel, citing Hamas health authorities.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces said they had targeted a Hamas compound and eliminated two commanders in the terror group's ranks. The IDF said it had struck a Hamas compound in the Tel Sultan area of northwestern Rafah where senior officials in the terror group were gathered, adding in a statement that "the attack was carried out against terrorists who are a target for attack, in accordance with international law, using precision munitions, and based on intelligence indicating the use of the area by Hamas terrorists."

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In a statement, the IDF said the strike had killed Yassin Rabia, the commander of Hamas's so-called West Bank headquarters, a Hamas unit charged with advancing attacks against Israel from or in the West Bank, and Khaled Najjar, another senior member of the unit, The Times of Israel reported. Rabia, according to the IDF, "managed all of the military arrays of the West Bank headquarters... was involved in the transfer of funds for terror purposes and directed attacks by Hamas operatives" in the West Bank.

Israel's military confirmed that it carried out an airstrike in northwest Rafah on Sunday night, based on "precise intelligence". It further said that Rabia had committed several deadly attacks himself, in 2001 and 2002, killing Israeli soldiers. Meanwhile, Najjar was involved in directing shooting attacks and other terror activities in the West Bank and was also involved in funnelling funds to Hamas operatives, the military said, according to The Times of Israel. Najjar also carried out several attacks between 2001 and 2003, according to the IDF, killing civilians and soldiers.

Israel further noted that eight Hamas rockets were launched from the Rafah area, where its forces have continued a ground assault despite an order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to halt operations there. The Israeli airstrikes in Rafah come days after the United Nations' top court ordered Israel to halt its operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and withdraw from the enclave, CNN reported. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) situated in The Hague, Netherlands gave the order on Friday, in the case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide, citing "immense risk" to the Palestinian population.

Notably, the decision marks the third time this year, that the 15-judge panel has issued preliminary orders seeking to rein in the death toll and alleviate humanitarian suffering in Gaza. However, it is pertinent to note that while orders are legally binding, the court has no police to enforce them.

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