72 displaced Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks in Rafah in 2 days: Media office

Israeli forces killed 72 displaced Palestinians in attacks on refugee tents in Rafah in the last 48 hours, Gaza's government media office said on Tuesday.

“The Israeli occupation army has committed three crimes against humanity by killing 72 displaced persons in the last 48 hours,” the media office said in a statement.

It said the Israeli attacks targeted refugee tent encampments in areas declared “safe zone” by Tel Aviv.

“It confirms the occupation's insistence on committing the crime of genocide with premeditation and deliberation,” it added.

At least 20 people were killed in Israeli shelling of refugee tents in al-Mawasi area west of Rafah on Tuesday. It came hours after seven people were killed in an Israeli attack in Tel al-Sultan area in the city.

The fatalities occurred after at least 45 people in an Israeli strike on a tent encampment in Tel al-Sultan area in the city late Saturday.

The media office urged the International Criminal Court (ICJ) to pursue Israeli war criminals involved in the killing of tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza.

Israel expanded its ground offensive in Rafah on Tuesday, with its tanks reaching the center of the city.

Israel's current expansion of its incursion into the city makes the Israeli army close to fully control the border area between Gaza and Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, a demilitarized buffer zone running along the Gaza-Egypt border.

The Israeli army has so far seized control of almost two-thirds of the corridor area as it advances under heavy bombardment and shelling.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023 following a Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the enclave.

Nearly 36,100 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 81,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio