Rafah, February 5 (RHC)-- Israel is continuing to bomb the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians had taken shelter seeking safety. 

Over the weekend, an Israeli strike on a home in Rafah killed at least 14 people, including women and children.  At least 30 Palestinians also died in Deir al-Balah, where Israel bombed homes and a mosque. Health officials in Gaza say at least 234 Palestinians have died since Friday, bringing the overall death toll since October 7th to over 27,300.

Meanwhile, a Palestinian doctor who was jailed by Israel for 45 days has described being tortured in Israeli custody. 

Dr. Said Abdulrahman Maarouf was jailed after Israeli forces raided al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City.
“The torture was very severe in Israeli prisons.  I am a doctor.  My weight was 87 kilograms. I lost, in 45 days, more than 25 kilograms of my weight.  I lost my balance.  I lost focus.  I lost all feeling.  We were shackled for 45 days, handcuffed for 45 days.  However you describe the suffering and insults in prison, you can never know the reality unless you lived through it.”

In other news from Gaza, Belgium summoned the Israeli ambassador after Israel bombed Belgium’s development agency in northern Gaza.  The bombing reportedly occurred last week after Belgium announced it would not pause funding for UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.