At least 28 Palestinians killed in new Israeli air strikes in Gaza

Gaza, The Gulf Observer: At least 28 Palestinians have been killed in new Israeli air strikes in blockaded Gaza, Palestine’s state news agency WAFA reported.

Warplanes struck several areas in Rafah in southern Gaza, leaving at least seven people dead, said WAFA, citing sources.

At least 14 people were killed in an Israeli bombardment in Jabalia in northern Gaza, said one source.

An Israeli strike targeted a house in western Rafah, killing five, including three children. Two people were killed in another strike on a house in the city, while seven were reported to be trapped under rubble.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the UN human rights office said there are new signs that some Palestinians who initially moved south in response to the Israeli ultimatum to evacuate are returning to their homes because Israeli strikes are taking place in the south, too.

“We remain very concerned that Israeli Forces’ heavy strikes are continuing across Gaza, including in the south,” Ravina Shamdasani told reporters. “The strikes, coupled with extremely difficult living conditions in the south, appear to have pushed some to return to the north, despite the continuing heavy bombing there.”

Shamdasani said the rights office had heard accounts about people wanting to migrate back north, including from one unidentified Palestinian who said, “I might as well die in my own house.”