9 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza's Rafah

At least nine Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday night on a residential building in the southernmost Gazan city of Rafah, Palestinian medical sources said on Saturday, reported Xinhua.

The sources told Xinhua that six of the dead were children, and rescue workers were searching for people still buried in rubble.

In addition, the Israeli army has carried out intensive bombardment on many areas in the northern and central Gaza Strip, the sources said, noting that so far there is no immediate report on the casualties.

The largest pharmaceutical factory in the Gaza Strip has been destroyed in one of those airstrikes in the central Deir al-Balah city.

According to a statement by the municipality on Saturday, the destruction of the factory, which occurred two days ago, was part of the "systematic targeting of the health system in the Gaza Strip."

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Iraqi Shiite militia claims drone attack on Israel

BAGHDAD, April 20 (Xinhua) -- A Shiite militia in Iraq on Saturday claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Eilat in Israel a few hours after unknown drones hit a military base of paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces in central Iraq.

The group, known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, said in an online statement that its fighters conducted a drone attack on "a vital site in Eilat area within the occupied territories."

The statement did not provide any detail regarding casualties, but stressed that the attacks were carried out "in solidarity with the people of Gaza" and underscored its commitment to continue targeting "enemy's strongholds."

Since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 7, 2023, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has launched multiple attacks on Israeli and U.S. bases in the Middle East.