On February 12, Israel's special forces raided Gaza's Rafah, releasing two hostages and launching "waves of strikes" that killed at least 74 Palestinians, sources from both sides said. 

The operation stirred fear in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, where more than half of the Palestinian enclave's 2.3 million residents were seeking shelter from Israeli bombardments in other parts of Gaza. 

"We saw them here, but we couldn't do anything. The children were so scared when they heard the voices," one resident told CGTN.