Hamas: Israel Besieges 50,000 Civilians in Rafah Amid Ongoing Genocide
Hamas accuses Israel of committing war crimes and targeting civilians in Rafah with U.S. backing, as international calls grow to halt the deadly siege in southern Gaza.
Watan-On Sunday, the Hamas movement stated that the Israeli army is carrying out a brutal assault on neighborhoods in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, and is besieging more than 50,000 unarmed civilians as part of what it described as an ongoing genocide supported by the United States.
In a statement, the movement said:”The Israeli army is launching a savage attack on the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood, the Saudi neighborhood, and the Baraksat area in Rafah, besieging more than 50,000 civilians under aerial and artillery bombardment.”
It added that:”The attacks also include continuous shelling of the al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, as well as the deliberate targeting of medical and ambulance crews.”
Hamas Urges Global Action
Hamas described these actions as “documented war crimes” and part of a “systematic policy of genocide” targeting the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
It stressed that the assaults represent a “blatant violation of international laws and conventions, particularly international humanitarian law.”
The movement also warned of the possibility that the “fascist occupation army” would commit further crimes and massacres against innocent civilians, amid painful reports of casualties and martyrs who cannot be reached or rescued due to the intense siege and ongoing heavy bombardment of the area.
Hamas called on Arab states, the United Nations, and all living forces in the world to take “immediate and serious action to stop this horrific crime and put an end to the genocidal war being committed by the Zionist occupation against our Palestinian people around the clock.”
Israel Encircles Tel al-Sultan
Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli army announced it had completed the encirclement of Tel al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah to tighten its control and “expand the security buffer zone” in the southern Gaza Strip.
This came just hours after a fierce assault began on the neighborhood, accompanied by the killing and injury of civilians, the besiegement of hundreds, and the deliberate trapping of ambulance and civil defense crews.
The “security zone” in Rafah includes the Philadelphi Corridor, which runs along the border with Egypt and is currently under Israeli control. Israel has refused to withdraw from the corridor despite the understandings of the ceasefire agreement that went into effect on January 19. The zone also includes an area 500–700 meters deep inside the Palestinian side of the border.
