GAZA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Two Palestinians were killed and others wounded in an Israeli airstrike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday, as the evacuation of sick and wounded continued through the Rafah border crossing.
Local sources and eyewitnesses reported that an Israeli drone fired a missile at a group of Palestinians near the "Nuweiri Tower" north of the Nuseirat camp, resulting in casualties.
A Palestinian medical source told Xinhua that ambulances transported the bodies of two people killed in the incident, along with several others wounded with varying injuries, including one in critical condition, to hospitals.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the incident.
Simultaneously, Israeli forces carried out artillery shelling and gunfire in various areas of the coastal enclave. Palestinian security sources reported that Israeli vehicles opened fire east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, amid artillery shelling and low-flying drones over the city.
Meanwhile, Gaza-based health authorities reported on Tuesday that the Gaza Strip hospitals received five dead and eight wounded in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll since the ceasefire went into effect in October 2025 to 997, with 3,152 wounded.
The authorities added in its daily report that the total number of deaths since the outbreak of the war on Oct. 7, 2023, has risen to 73,008.
These developments come amid continued tensions on the ground despite the ceasefire agreement.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Gaza announced that 97 people, including 35 patients and 62 companions, departed through the Rafah border crossing as part of ongoing efforts to facilitate access to medical treatment outside the Gaza Strip.
In a press statement, the society noted that this operation is part of ongoing humanitarian efforts to evacuate patients requiring specialized medical care unavailable in Gaza, given the significant challenges facing the health sector and the continued strain on medical facilities.
Around 20,000 people in the Gaza Strip urgently need to travel abroad for medical treatment, according to medical organizations operating in the enclave. They noted that the number of travelers crossing daily is very low compared to the overwhelming number of people requiring treatment.
The Rafah crossing is the main land crossing for Gaza residents traveling outside the strip for medical treatment, study, and work. It is located in the city of Rafah, in the far south of the enclave, and connects Gaza to Egypt. ■
