Twenty people, including at least one infant and a toddler, died following an Israeli airstrike over Rafah, Gaza, overnight into Monday, according to hospital officials, CNN reported.
In footage captured by Associated Press, mourners were seen sitting by the bodies wrapped in body bags, before prayer rituals were performed by dozens of men. The bodies were then taken to the morgue in Abu Yousef al-Najjar hospital, Associated Press reported.
The strike happened as the Israeli military signals that it plans an offensive on the city, where hundreds of thousands of people have taken refuge during the war.
Israel has said it plans to evacuate civilians from Rafah during the anticipated offensive. Almost 80% of people in Gaza have fled their homes. More than half of the territory’s population of 2.3 million have sought refuge in Rafah.
The war on Gaza war was sparked by an unprecedented Oct. 7 raid into southern Israel in which Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 hostages.
Israel says the militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.
The war on Gaza has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, around two-thirds of them children and women.
