Israeli airstrike on refugee tents kills at least 35 with aid groups ‘horrified’ | First Thing

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An Israeli airstrike on tents housing displaced Palestinians in Rafah has killed at least 35 people and “horrified” aid groups, with the death toll likely to rise.

What are aid groups saying? Médecins Sans Frontières said dozens of dead and injured people were brought to a trauma stabilisation supported by the group. “We are horrified by this deadly event which shows once again that nowhere is safe,” it said. The Palestinian Red Crescent said its ambulance crews transported “a large number” of people killed and injured in the Rafah strikes. The group added that the location of the strike had been designated by Israel as a humanitarian area, adding “citizens were coerced into evacuating to it.”

What is the humanitarian cost of the war? After the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October killed about 1,200 people and took 250 hostage, Israel’s assault on Gaza has killed at least 35,984 people and injured 80,643, according to health officials, with the invasion also decimating Gaza’s infrastructure, displacing 80% of the population and bringing people close to famine.