Eastern Rafah almost entirely destroyed as Israeli strikes hit Gaza, officials say

Dozens killed as Israel pounds the Gaza Strip while troops advance in the southern city

Ninety per cent of eastern Rafah has been destroyed by the Israeli military, Gaza’s media centre said. AP

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

The vast majority of eastern Rafah has been destroyed, Palestinian authorities said on Wednesday after dozens were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza overnight.

Rafah, on Gaza's southern border with Egypt, has experienced a brutal Israeli ground offensive that began last month. The city was harbouring more than half of the enclave's 2.3 million population, who now have nowhere to go. A million people have left the area since the military operation started, the UN has said.

“The Israeli army has destroyed more than 90 per cent of the eastern areas of Rafah governorate and it is still sweeping,” Gaza’s media centre said in a statement, adding that Israel has targeted areas stretching from the east to the sea in the southern city.

Meanwhile, Israeli air strikes continued to target areas across the Gaza Strip as mediators continue pushing towards brokering a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.

“The army has forced medical teams in Rafah Governorate to stop their services after targeting them,” said the media centre statement. “They are planning to destroy all of the city following severe damage to its infrastructure.”

A UN commission also called for an end to Israel's offensive in Rafah in an inquiry report which found that war crimes were being committed in Gaza.

“Israel must immediately stop its military operations and attacks in Gaza, including the assault on Rafah, which has cost the lives of hundreds of civilians and again displaced hundreds of thousands of people to unsafe locations without basic services and humanitarian assistance,” said Navi Pillay, chairman of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

A ceasefire proposal put forward by the US is still on the negotiating table as mediators push for Hamas and Israel to accept and commit to it. However, fighting continues despite the continuing discussions.

Israeli soldiers work on their tank near the border with Gaza in southern Israel. AP

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it has been targeting fighter cells, weapons depots, launch sites and other military infrastructure in Rafah and central Gaza.

The military said its forces have destroyed several fighter cells and booby-trapped structures during the last 24 hours.

Air strikes have also pounded central Gaza, with Israel's military claiming to have targeted an armed fighter cell and weapons depot.

Overnight air strikes killed dozens of civilians when they hit two homes in Gaza city, in the north of the enclave, Gaza authorities said in a statement.

In central Gaza city, at least eight people were killed when strikes targeted a family home in the Daraj neighbourhood.

An additional six people were killed from the Fayomi family after their home came under Israeli strikes in the city's Shujaiya neighbourhood.

In Khan Younis, a child was killed and members of the Shaat family were injured after their home in the Miraj neighbourhood was targeted.

Palestinians walk next to destroyed buildings in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. EPA

Gaza's health ministry said on Wednesday that the only oxygen station in Gaza city, hospitals and health centres are at a risk of running out of fuel and shutting down.

“This exposes the lives of dozens of sick and wounded people to inevitable death,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that medicine stored in refrigerators will be damaged due to a lack of diesel to operate generators.

“We appeal to all relevant international and humanitarian institutions to intervene quickly to bring in the necessary fuel, in addition to the electric generators and spare parts needed for maintenance,” said the ministry.

Hospitals across Gaza have been appealing for urgent help as they run out of medical supplies and fuel. Some have stopped working due to the continuing Israeli attacks and blockade.