More than 60 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the southern Gazan city of Rafah, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said early Monday.
CNN cannot independently verify the numbers.
The city, where more than half of Gaza’s population is seeking refuge, experienced “intense targeting” by warplanes and airstrikes, the PRCS said.
Helicopters also fired machine guns along its border regions, according to the PRCS. Rafah lies near Gaza’s border with Egypt.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Monday that they conducted “a series of strikes” on targets in the area of Shaboura, a district of Rafah, saying in a statement that “the strikes have concluded.”
A mosque in Shaboura was among the targets of the Israeli strikes, according to the Rafah municipality.
Hamas-run television channel Al-Aqsa reported two mosques were targeted as well as 14 homes in various areas of Rafah on Monday.
The director of Abu Yousef Al-Najjar Hospital said medical facilities in Rafah “cannot handle the large number of injuries due to the Israeli occupation’s bombardment.”
According to the PRCS, people are trapped under the rubble and there is still a heavy presence of warplanes in the skies over Rafah.
Some context: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off mounting criticisms over plans for a ground offensive in Rafah, where more than 1.3 million people have taken refuge, many of whom were already displaced from other parts of the enclave and say they have nowhere to go.
This post has been updated with the IDF’s confirmation of strikes on Rafah.
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