Gaza officials say Israeli strikes on Rafah kill at least 9, including 6 children

April 20 (UPI) -- Nine people, including six children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the southern Gaza Strip refugee haven of Rafah on Saturday, local Palestinian officials said.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, told the Palestinian WAFA News Agency the nine who died in the Rafah airstrikes were inside an apartment in the as-Salam neighborhood.

The airstrikes caused massive and significant damage to the neighboring homes and buildings, according to the report.

More are buried in the rubble, which rescue workers are searching, while a tenth casualty was reported a separate strike in another part of Rafah on Saturday.

Meanwhile, an "intensive bombardment" in the northern and central areas of the Gaza destroyed the enclave's largest pharmaceutical factory in Deir al-Balah city, local officials told China's state-run Xinhua news agency.

Leaders in Israel earlier announced the Israeli Defense Forces would invade Rafah despite international protests and warned civilians to evacuate the area ahead of the most recent airstrikes.

IDF leaders say four remaining Hamas battalions are sheltered in Rafah and vowed to conduct a ground offensive in the city along the Egyptian border.

The hostilities continue despite international calls for a cease-fire after IDF forces declared war on Hamas following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in which Hamas militants killed about 1,200 Israeli civilians and kidnapped hundreds more.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Saturday the war has claimed 34,012 Palestinian lives in Gaza.