The Israeli military struck a Hamas compound in Rafah located near a refugee camp on Sunday that took out several Hamas terrorists after the group used its last remaining stronghold in Gaza to fire a massive rocket barrage for the first time in months. 

Israel said it launched a counterattack “against legitimate targets under international law, through the use of precise munitions and on the basis of precise intelligence that indicated Hamas’ use of the area.” 

Despite the reassurance, the Israeli military acknowledged reports from Palestinian media alleging that dozens of civilians were killed by the blasts that hit near a refugee camp. 

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which provides humanitarian support for Gaza, said the strikes were carried out over “displaced persons’ tents near the United Nations headquarters northwest of Rafah.” 

The humanitarian group noted that the location was previously designated as a humanitarian zone by Israel. 

The IDF said it is currently investigating the allegations.

Two Hamas officials were killed in Sunday’s counterstrike: Yassin Rabia, the chief of staff in Judea and Samaria, and senior official Khaled Nagar, the IDF later announced on X.

The counter-attack comes just hours after air-raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv for the first time in four months on Sunday following Hamas’ attack from Rafah. 

The show of force — Hamas claimed it fired more than 100 missiles — demonstrates the terror group’s resilience as the war approaches its eighth month.

Israeli officials said it proves the military needs to finish the job and invade the southern Gaza city, despite the objections of the Biden Administration and an order not to go in from the International Criminal Court.

Hamas’ military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, claimed the attack was targeting Tel Aviv and in direct response to what it called the “Zionist massacres against civilians,” according to the terrorists’ Telegram channel. 

The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 36,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and terrorists. 

While Israeli officials have not reported any casualties or damage caused by the rocket attack, Sunday’s strike represents the first long-range missile assault from Gaza since January.

The Israeli military said at least eight projectiles crossed the border from Rafah, where the Israeli Defense Forces have been deployed to take out some of Hamas last remaining battalions. 

The IDF did not state how many Hamas rockets were fired, only that “a number” of them were intercepted. 

Along with sirens flaring in Tel Aviv, the rocket strike also triggered alarms in Herzliya, Kfar Shmaryahu, Ramat Hasharon, Petah Tikva and other communities. 

At least one vehicle that was stopped while driving to a school in Kibbutz Sa’ad, near the Gaza border, was hit by a rocket, according to Israeli public broadcaster Kann. 

Benny Gantz, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet, said Sunday’s strike was a clear demonstration of Hamas’ terror capabilities and evidence of why the IDF needs to continue its operation in Rafah, which has received criticism from world leaders.

“The rockets shot from Rafah today prove that the IDF must operate in every place Hamas still operates from, and as such, the IDF will continue to operate wherever necessary,” Gantz said, according to the Times of Israel. 

“The world must know: Those who still hold our hostages captive, shoot at our cities and continue to propagate terror are responsible for the situation,” he added. “Terrorist Hamas are war criminals, and we intend on making them pay for their crimes – whether sooner or later.” 

The war between Israel and Hamas will have reached eight months next week, marking 245 days since the terror group invaded Israel on Oct. 7 and killed more than 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 others. 

Israel has said the war will continue until all the hostages are freed and Gaza no longer proves a threat to the Jewish state.  

With Post wires