Israel pummels Gaza as troops push into central Rafah

Israeli forces on Friday struck targets across theGaza Strip, with witnesses reporting air raids around the southern city of Rafah, the latest focus of the nearly eight-month war.

Israel launched its military incursion into Rafah in early May despite international objections over the safety of civilians sheltering in the city on Gaza's border with Egypt.

A strike thatsparked a fire and killed dozens in a displacement camp on 26 May drew a wave of condemnation from around the world.

Witnesses said Friday Israeli strikes hit the Rafah area as well as central Gaza's Nuseirat. The French news agency AFP alsoreported intense bombardment in the north.

Strikes on two separate locations killed a total of 11 people overnight, medical sources at a hospital in Deir al-Balah and the Nuseirat refugee camp reported.

© Al-Araby Al-Jadeed