Battle rages on in Rafah as Palestinian families suffer severe lack of food

Palestinian children gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, as fears of famine grow amid the continuing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Photo: Reuters

Nidal Al-Mughrabi

Israeli forces pounded several areas across Gaza yesterday, and residents reported fierce fighting overnight in Rafah in the south of the Palestinian enclave.

Residents said fighting intensified in the Tel Al-Sultan neighbourhood in western Rafah, where tanks were also trying to force their way north amid heavy clashes. The armed wings of ­Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said fighters attacked Israeli forces with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs.