An Israeli medic walks near soldiers and an ambulance after Hamas claimed responsibility for an attack on Kerem Shalom crossing, May 5, 2024.(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
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The rockets were reportedly launched from the Rafah area. The Kerem Shalom crossing was closed after the attack.
At least ten people were wounded after Hamas fired ten rockets toward the Kerem Shalom area along the Israel-Gaza border on Sunday afternoon. At least one of the individuals wounded was in critical condition.
Shortly after the attack, the IDF closed the Kerem Shalom crossing located in the area, halting the entry of humanitarian aid trucks through the crossing which serves as the main entry point for aid.
Several people received medical treatment on the spot for injuries sustained from the rocket fire, and were evacuated to hospitals for immediate medical care. Additionally, a home in Kibbutz Kerem Shalom was hit and damaged as well, according to Israeli media. No injuries were reported in the impact in Kibbutz Kerem Shalom.
Hamas took responsibility for the rocket fire, saying their Al-Qassam Brigades targeted the Kerem Shalom area with 114 mm short-range “Rajoum” rockets.
The rockets were fired from only a couple hundred meters from the Rafah humanitarian crossing, one of the few areas where IDF soldiers still have not entered since the October 27 invasion of Gaza. The IDF said it had some generic intelligence warnings about intent to launch such attacks on IDF soldiers and that there was some kind of rocket alert warning in real-time.
Hamas fires rockets from near the Rafah humanitarian crossing toward the Kerem Shalom area. May 5, 2024. (Credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)
Responding to the rocket attacks, the air force increased its attacks on Hamas command centers and other sites in Rafah, as well as against the locations of the rocket attacks themselves, which it appears came from underground attack platforms.
IDF strikes Rafah area in response
Shortly after the attack, Palestinian media reported a series of Israeli airstrikes in the Rafah area.
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“Hamas is intentionally preventing aid from reaching the people of Gaza,” wrote the Foreign Ministry on X, pointing to the rocket fire toward Kerem Shalom, disruptions of the movement of aid from southern to northern Gaza, and the firing of mortars at a corridor used for humanitarian purposes.
President Isaac Herzog responded to the Hamas attack on Sunday afternoon, posting on X: “Hamas attack humanitarian aid because they don’t care for humanity. The world must act to release the hostages and free the people of Gaza from Hamas’s vicious rule.”
Unclear what effects Hamas’s attack will have on Rafah plans
It was unclear what impact Hamas’s latest attack would have on Israeli plans to invade Rafah.
More specifically, whether Israel would move forward sooner to invade Rafah or would still give ongoing hostage negotiations a chance to resolve before taking broader action.
It was also unclear whether if no ceasefire is reached, how prepared IDF soldiers in Gaza, and especially near humanitarian aid centers, would be for additional similar Hamas rocket attacks.
There were questions as well about whether Israeli civilians returning to the Kerem Shalom area in July as scheduled would be impacted and delayed by the current incident.
