CAIRO, June 19. /TASS/. At least 12 Palestinians have been killed as a result of a strike by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera said.

The television channel reported that dozens of people have suffered different injuries, but did not give the exact number of casualties. It is said that a street in the east of the city had come under shelling.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after militants of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, killing residents of border settlements and taking 250 hostages. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, and then proceeded to carry out a ground operation in the enclave.