Hamas claimed responsibility Sunday for a barrage of rockets fired from the town of Rafah toward the Kerem Shalom border crossing, which is responsible for the entry of trucks of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
There were several casualties. The Times of Israel reported:
At least seven people were wounded in the Hamas rocket attack on the Kerem Shalom area, according to Hebrew-language media reports.
Several of those hurt in the attack are listed in serious condition, the reports say.
Hamas previously attacked the crossing during the 2021 conflict with Israel, again endangering the flow of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
The timing of the attack could be very consequential, as negotiations are underway in Cairo, Egypt, on a hostage deal. Israel has said that it is determined to attack Hamas’s last stronghold in Rafah, with or without a deal. Hamas says it will not release hostages if Israel does not agree to end the war and to refrain from attacking its forces in Rafah.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) closed the Kerem Shalom crossing, the main entry point of humanitarian aid from Israel directly into Gaza. The IDF also retaliated Sunday with helicopter attacks on the sources of rocket fire in Rafah.
Israelis reacted with alarm to the Hamas attack. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett posted on X / Twitter:
Hamas just shot mortars on the Kerem Shalom crossing, which is a central entry point for humanitarian aid into Gaza.
— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) May 5, 2024
Yes, they’re bombing their own lifeline of food and aid.
This is yet another example of Hamas’ perverse strategy: to Kill their own people in order to hurt…
According to Abu Ali Express, which monitors Arab media, the Palestinian Fatah party, Hamas’s “moderate” rival, criticized Hamas for the attack on Keren Shalom, saying the terror group had given Israel an excuse to attack Rafah.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
