The Israeli police have raided and cleared out Al Jazeera's offices. This comes after Israeli Cabinet unanimously voted to shut down the Qatari Al-Jazeera TV channel within Israel. Following the decision, all Al Jazeera offices in Israel were promptly shuttered, broadcast equipment confiscated, and the channel disconnected from cable and satellite providers, with access to its websites blocked.
Following the Israeli government's declaration of shutting down Al Jazeera's broadcasting, there are claims suggesting that Israel aims to prevent the news outlet from covering their actions in Rafah, the remaining refuge for Palestinians in Gaza.
According to a statement Al Jazeera news outlet released on Monday overnight, they will continue to report on the war in Gaza, "despite the Israeli ban."
Furthermore, on their website it was written that Al Jazeera views the Israeli allegations as "slander" and promised to fight the Israeli ban "by any legal means available."
An Israeli strike targeting a house in Rafah in Southern Gaza killed nine Palestinians, officials from the Hamas-run Gazan health ministry said on Monday.
According to an AFP report from May 6, sixteen persons were killed by Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, Gaza Strip, citing first responders and medics.
Meanwhile, two strikes that they said occurred at two separate places around Rafah were confirmed by medical sources.
The missile attack in Rafah, which Israel claimed claimed the lives of three of its soldiers and injured eleven more, was claimed by Hamas, hours before the airstrikes took place. According to the armed wing of Hamas, rockets were fired toward an Israeli army base near the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza.
The strikes on Sunday occurred as prospects for cease-fire negotiations between the opposing parties dwindled. The team of Hamas for the Gaza truce talks in Cairo, according to an official, was leaving for "consultations" in Qatar as public disagreement with Israel over demands to halt their seven-month war heated up.
