NEW Israeli attacks on Rafah today killed at least 16 Palestinians, first responders reported.

This came as residents reported an escalation of fighting in the southern Gaza city once seen as the territory’s last refuge.

An Israeli assault launched in early May has caused nearly 1 million to flee from Rafah, most of whom had already been displaced by Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

They now seek refuge in squalid tent camps and other war-ravaged areas.

The United States and other close allies of Israel have warned against a full-fledged offensive in the city. The Biden administration said they would refuse to provide arms for such an undertaking. 

On Friday, the International Court of Justice called on Israel to halt its Rafah offensive. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead, saying Israeli forces must enter Rafah to dismantle Hamas and return hostages taken in the October 7 attack.

The latest strikes occurred in the same area where Israel targeted what it said was a Hamas compound on Sunday night. 

That strike ignited a fire in a camp for displaced Palestinians and killed at least 45 people, according to local health officials, sparking worldwide outrage.

Mr Netanyahu called the incident a “tragic mishap.”

The Israeli military says an initial investigation into Sunday’s strike has found the blaze was caused by a secondary explosion.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesman, said today that the military fired two 37-lbs munitions that targeted two senior Hamas militants. 

He said the munitions would have been too small to ignite a fire on their own and the military is looking into the possibility that weapons were stored in the area.

The Palestinian Civil Defence and the Palestinian Red Crescent say overnight strikes killed a total of 16 people in the Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood in north-west Rafah, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Residents reported heavy bombardment overnight in western parts of Rafah as well.

“It was a night of horror,” said Abdel-Rahman Abu Ismail, a Palestinian from Gaza City who has been sheltering in Tel al-Sultan since December. 

The Kuwait Hospital in Rafah shut down on Monday after a strike near its entrance killed two health workers.