IDF responds to claim it delayed rescue of Gaza City family trapped under rubble

The Israel Defense Forces responds to reports in Palestinian media that Gaza City resident Radah Rabah and her two children died after being trapped in rubble by an Israeli airstrike, which claimed the IDF didn’t allow rescuers to be dispatched to the scene for two days.

“According to the location and times provided, no strike is known to have taken place in the area,” the IDF says.

“During the night, a request was received from international aid organizations to coordinate the evacuation of the neighborhood; in recent hours, the coordination was approved and is being carried out in order to evacuate people from the area.

“We emphasize that the area is an active combat zone where intensive operational activity is being conducted against terrorists and terror targets. Therefore, all coordination requests are approved subject to the operational situation in the area,” the military says.

The area where Rabah lived — the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in the eastern part of the city — has been under evacuation order for a few months, even before the IDF’s broader call for Gaza City residents to leave their homes.