The deadly Israeli airstrikes affected Rafah once more.

In an area where over a million Palestinians are displaced and living in makeshift tents and temporary quarters, Israeli airstrikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Saturday killed numerous people, including women and children, according to Palestinian official media. This increased tension in the area.

Palestinians have been preparing for an Israeli military invasion on Rafah, the southernmost area of Gaza, where over half of the 2.2 million people living there have fled after being driven from their homes by over six months of Israeli shelling and a ground invasion for some weeks now.

According to the Wafa news agency, in addition to the airstrikes that destroyed two family houses and killed ten of their occupants, other parts of Rafah and its surroundings were also hit by artillery and missiles.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the strikes right away. It has declared that its attack in Gaza aims to destroy Hamas, the militant organization that has ruled the Gaza Strip for almost twenty years.

The trembling from the attacks was described as “like an earthquake” by Mohammad al-Masri, a 31-year-old accountant who is taking refuge with his family in a tent in a sizable Rafah camp.

He claimed that a second strike occurred shortly after the first one, which had shaken the ground and lit up the night sky just after midnight. He remarked, “We don’t know what to do when we hear about these strikes.” “Where can we go?” is the same question that everyone is asking.

Israel has been advised by President Biden and other international leaders not to invade Rafah because doing so would worsen the already serious humanitarian situation.

However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not complied with their demands, asserting that in order to “complete the elimination of Hamas’s battalions” and demolish its tunnel networks, a land offensive is required. The bombings on Saturday increased Palestinians’ concerns about an impending invasion in Rafah.

Secretary General António Guterres stated that Israel’s military assault in Rafah would “compound this humanitarian catastrophe” at a briefing to the Security Council this week.

When the first attack occurred, Rahaf Al-Madhoun, 17, was live-streaming on TikTok to discuss the living circumstances in Rafah, according to her. She took a moment to gather herself before moving on.

She continued by describing the fear caused by the strikes and the constant hum of surveillance drones flying overhead. “I swear, we’re at a loss,” she exclaimed. “We are dying from the fear itself.”