At least 30 killed during Israel's continuing ground assault in Gaza's Rafah

An injured boy is treated at a temporary clinic in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night.

According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby.

The army said that a tank division and an armored brigade have been operating on the ground in eastern Rafah, while attack drones carried out strikes from the air.

They attacked about 100 "targets" in the region, including militant infrastructure and "suspicious buildings" from which Hamas fighters fired at Israeli soldiers, the army said.

Israel launched the ground assault on Rafah overnight between Monday and Tuesday, citing its aim to eliminate four Hamas battalions that remain in the southern city.

Troops gained "operational control" over the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing on Tuesday, a key entry point for humanitarian aid from Egypt to the famine-stricken Gaza, and shut it down.

An injured man is treated at a temporary clinic in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

An injured boy is treated at a temporary clinic in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

An injured boy is treated at a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

An injured girl is treated at a temporary clinic in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A man carries an injured girl on a street in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A man carries an injured girl on a street in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

An injured boy is treated at a temporary clinic in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

An injured child is treated at a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

An injured girl is transferred into an ambulance in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People leave their home in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People leave their home in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People leave their home in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People leave their home in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People leave their home in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People leave their home in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People leave their home in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

An Israeli self-propelled howitzer fires a shell to the Gaza Strip near the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua)

Israeli troops are deployed near the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua)

An Israeli self-propelled howitzer is deployed near the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua)

An Israeli soldier prepares to launch an unmanned aerial vehicle near the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Ilan Assayag/JINI via Xinhua)

Israeli armored vehicles are deployed near the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Ilan Assayag/JINI via Xinhua)

Israeli armored vehicles are deployed near the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Ilan Assayag/JINI via Xinhua)

Israeli armored vehicles are deployed near the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Ilan Assayag/JINI via Xinhua)

Israeli armored vehicles are deployed near the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, on May 8, 2024. Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its ground assault on Gaza's Rafah, reporting approximately 30 casualties since the offensive began on Monday night. According to an army statement, the 30 casualties were militants, while Gaza health officials reported about 35 deaths, including a four-month-old baby. (Ilan Assayag/JINI via Xinhua)