Fires break out at Palestinian homes in Rafah after Israeli shelling

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Israeli artillery shelled residential buildings in central Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, according to witnesses.

The attack caused fires at several homes in the area, witnesses said.

No information was yet available about casualties.

Civil defense teams are struggling to bring the fires under control, according to an Anadolu reporter.

The attack came hours after the Israeli artillery bombed the Rafah municipality building, causing fires.

On Monday, the Israeli army issued evacuation orders for Palestinians in eastern Rafah, a move widely seen as a prelude to Israel's long-feared attack on the city, home to some 1.5 million displaced Palestinians.

And on Tuesday, the army seized control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt, a vital route for humanitarian aid into the besieged territory.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas which killed about 1,200 people. More than 34,800 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and 78,400 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar