(VOVWORLD) -Palestinian and Middle Eastern media reported on Monday that the Israeli army destroyed public buildings at the Rafah border gate connecting the Gaza Strip with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
 People stand next to a house that collapsed due to an Israeli air strike on the city of Rafah. (Photo: AFP) |
The Israel Defence Forces issued a statement saying half of Hamas's fighting force in Rafah – at least 550 gunmen – had been incapacitated.
The IDF also destroyed dozens of Hamas tunnels in the Philadelphia corridor separating the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. The IDF confirmed the loss of 22 of its soldiers since the start of its ground attack in Rafah on May 7.
The IDF also said Israeli warplanes had targeted a building and auxiliary structures belonging to Hezbollah in Aitaroun, southern Lebanon.
The Monday night airstrikes coincided with US President Joe Biden's senior advisor Amos Hochstein’s visit to Israel.
Hochstein on Monday met with Israeli leaders, including President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, about reducing tensions along the Israeli border with Lebanon and avoiding a large-scale conflict with Hezbollah.