Rafiah Yam

Al Qarya as Suwaydiya (Arabic: القرية مثل السويدية), known as Swedish village, is a village situated near Egypt–Gaza border in the Rafah Governorate, Gaza Strip. The village is often nicknamed "forgotten" due to the lack of basic services.

Slav (Hebrew: שְׂלָו, lit. Quail) was a Jewish village and an Israeli settlement in the Gush Katif settlement bloc, located in the south-west edge of the Gaza Strip until 2005.

On 28 May 2024, Gaza emergency services reported that four tank artillery shells struck a tent city in the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone west of Rafah, hitting a group of tents and killing at least 21 people, at least 12 of whom were women, and injuring 64 people, including 10 in a critical condition. The strike occurred in an area designated as an expanded humanitarian zone by Israel in the wake of the Rafah offensive which has led to the mass displacement of Palestinian civilians to tent cities outside of the city. This attack came two days after a 26 May attack on a UNRWA refugee camp in the Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood that killed 45–50 civilians, and four days after a 24 May legally binding order by the International Court of Justice for Israel to immediately stop its Rafah offensive due to the risk to civilians. The Israel Defense Forces denied attacking the area on 28 May. The New York Times published a video showing the aftermath of the attack on al-Mawasi.

Al-Mawasi (Arabic: المواصي) is a Palestinian Bedouin town on the southern coast of the Gaza Strip, approximately one kilometer wide and fourteen kilometers long, that prior to Israel's unilateral disengagement plan in 2005 existed as a Palestinian enclave within the Katif bloc of Israeli settlements. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Mawasi had a population of 1,409 in mid-year 2006. In December 2023, during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, the Israel Defense Forces had designated Al-Mawasi as one of the only safe areas in the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of thousands of people had fled there, and found only a barren strip of land with no basic resources such as food, water, or sanitation.

Pe'at Sadeh (Hebrew: פְּאַת שָׂדֶה, lit. Mouth Field) was an Israeli settlement, in the Gaza Strip until 2005.

Tel al-Sultan or Tall as-Sultan (Arabic: معسكر تل السلطان) is one of eight Palestinian refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. It is located in the Rafah Governorate just north of Rafah city and Rafah Camp. It was established mainly to absorb refugees repatriated from Canada Camp.UNRWA does not make a distinction between Rafah Camp and Tall as-Sultan. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 2006 mid-year estimate for Tall as-Sultan is 24,418.

On 16 October 2024, during their operations in the Gaza war, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. His killing was the result of a routine patrol and a chance encounter in the southern Gazan city of Rafah. He had been one of Israel's most wanted men after the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel. In the lead-up to the shootout, members of the 828th Bislamach Brigade reported activity they deemed suspicious and received orders to engage. When their drone spotted three militants leaving a building, the soldiers fired upon them, not knowing that Sinwar was among them. The militants scattered, with Sinwar entering a nearby building alone. A firefight ensued, in which an IDF soldier was severely injured. An IDF tank fired at Sinwar's location and troops advanced into the building, but they pulled back after he threw grenades at them. IDF then sent the drone to survey the interior, detecting the injured Sinwar, his identity still unknown to engaging troops. After entering again the following day, they found Sinwar's body in the wrecked building and suspected it could be his, based on resemblance. They cut a finger from the body and sent it to Israel for identification purposes; later in the day, the body was dispatched as well. Sinwar's body was identified through dental records and DNA testing, and his death was confirmed by Israeli officials soon afterward. An Israeli pathologist reported that the body showed various injuries from different causes, and that Sinwar died from being shot to the head, causing severe traumatic brain injury. Hamas also acknowledged his death on 18 October. In the subsequently released footage made by the Israeli drone, seen by many, Sinwar is seen wounded as he throws a stick at the drone. Some in Israel characterized the imagery as showing defeat, while Sinwar's supporters interpreted his conduct as emblematic of defiance. Critics questioned Israel's choice to release the footage in the first place, based on concerns that it contributes to Sinwar's post-mortem heroization. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the killing of Sinwar "settled the score", but warned the war would continue with full force until Israel's hostages were returned. U.S. president Joe Biden stated "This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world", comparing Sinwar's death to the killing of Osama bin Laden and emphasizing that it presents an opportunity for a "day after" in Gaza without Hamas. In Hamas's statement confirming Sinwar's death, Basem Naim said: "Hamas becomes stronger and more popular with each elimination of its leaders. It hurts to lose people, especially unique leaders like Yahya Sinwar, but we are sure we will win in the end."

On 26 May 2024, the Israeli Air Force bombed a displacement camp in Tel al-Sultan, Rafah. The attack, which set the camp on fire, killed between 45 and 50 Palestinians and injured more than 200. Sometimes referred to as the Rafah tent massacre or as the Tent Massacre (Arabic: مجزرة الخيم, romanized: Majzarat al-khiyam), it was the deadliest incident of the Rafah offensive. When Israel invaded Rafah and ordered the evacuation of its east, some citizens fled to other parts of the city, like Tel al-Sultan, seeking safety. One week before the bombing, Israel had designated the neighborhood as a "safe zone" and dropped leaflets instructing Palestinians to move there. Two days before the attack, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt its offensive, but Israel interpreted the order differently and continued its operations. On the night of the attack, Israel struck the neighborhood with two U.S. made GBU-39 glide bombs. The bombs ignited a fire in the "Kuwaiti Peace" tent camp; many civilians were trapped and burned alive. Israel killed four militants and injured one commander. It claimed it attacked an outside "Hamas compound" and accidentally set off the fire. However, videos and satellite images showed that the location of the airstrike was inside the refugee camp itself, and some sources alleged Israel deliberately targeted civilians. Military analysts stated that bombs used by Israel have a large effect radius, and therefore should not have been used in a densely populated civilian area. An investigation by Amnesty International concluded that militants were in the camp, but that Israel knowingly put civilians at risk. Images of the attack spread internationally, described as "some of the worst" of the war.

Bnei Atzmon (Hebrew: בְּנֵי עַצְמוֹן) was an Israeli settlement previously in the Sinai Peninsula, later moved to the Gaza Strip before being destroyed in 2005.

Yazan al-Kafarneh (Arabic: يزن الكفارنة) was a Palestinian boy with cerebral palsy who died from malnourishment on 4 March 2024, aged 10. He died during the ongoing Gaza Strip famine caused by the tightening of the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war. He became a face for the children in Gaza and the Gaza Strip famine, with his image used by politicians and international organizations.

The Mohammed Yousef El-Najar Hospital (Arabic: مستشفى الشهيد أبو يوسف النجار) is a hospital in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Palestine.

The Rafah Governorate (Arabic: محافظة رفح Muḥāfaẓat Rafaḥ) is a Governorate of Palestine in the southernmost portion of the Gaza Strip. Its district capital or muhfaza is the city of Rafah located on the border with Egypt. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the governorate had a population of 267,635 in mid-year 2022. It contains the closed down Yasser Arafat International Airport.