Footage from the scene showed Palestinians frantically attending to the victims.

The attacks on Rafah have reignited criticism of Israel’s military offensive in the southern city, where more than one million Palestinians had been taking shelter.

On Tuesday, Israeli tanks reportedly rolled into the centre of the city, with eyewitnesses telling local media several were spotted near Al Awda mosque.

Footage released by the Al Jazeera TV channel showed several tanks advancing into Rafah.

The Israeli military on Tuesday announced it has deployed an additional brigade to Rafah, signalling it is not going to back down in its assault on the city where it says Hamas’ leadership and four remaining battalions are hiding.

More than one million people have fled Rafah since the IDF issued evacuation orders in early May, according to the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, with many moving to the badly damaged north of the enclave.

On Tuesday, Ireland formally recognised a Palestinian state, saying it will promptly establish “full diplomatic relations” with Palestine and will send an ambassador to Ramallah, the capital of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

Spain and Norway are expected to follow suit shortly.

Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish prime minister, in a televised address on Tuesday said his country will recognise Palestine in the 1967 borders, or before Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Israel reacted angrily to the announcement, with its foreign minister Israel Katz comparing Spain’s deputy prime minister to the Oct 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar and the leader of Iran seeking the “elimination of Israel”.

Later in the day, Mr Katz told the visiting Hungarian foreign minister that the countries recognising a Palestinian state were “feeding the terror monster” and “abandoning the hostages” captured by Hamas in southern Israel on Oct 7 last year.