<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Israel's war against the Islamic militant group Hamas has led to a dramatic escalation of tensions in the Middle East, notably between Israel and Iran in recent weeks. Now attention returns to Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population of about 2.3 million people are sheltering, many displaced by fighting elsewhere.</div><div><br></div><div>Relatives sobbed and hugged children's shrouded bodies at al-Najjar hospital.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;“Hamza my beloved. Your hair looks so pretty,” a mourning grandmother said.</div><div><br></div><div>The fatalities included Abdel-Fattah Sobhi Radwan, his wife Najlaa Ahmed Aweidah and their three children, his brother-in-law Ahmed Barhoum said. Barhoum lost his wife, Rawan Radwan, and their 5-year-old daughter, Alaa.</div><div><br></div><div>"This is a world devoid of all human values and morals,” Barhoum told The Associated Press, crying as he cradled Alaa's body. “The only martyrs were women and children.”</div><div><br></div><div>Israel has insisted for months that it plans a ground offensive into Rafah, where it says many remaining Hamas militants are holed up, despite calls for restraint from the international community including Israel’s staunchest ally, the United States. - AP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>