On 7 July , after seven Hamas militants died Death in a tunnel explosion Attack in Khan Yunis which was caused Causation by an Israeli airstrike Attack ( per Hamas , Nathan Thrall , BBC and a senior IDF official ) or an accidental explosion Attack of their own munitions ( per the IDF ) , Hamas assumed Protest responsibility for rockets fired Use_firearm into Israel and launched Military_operation 40 rockets towards Israel .

Israeli forces attacked Attack police stations , military targets including weapons caches and suspected rocket firing teams , as well as political and administrative institutions in the opening assault , striking Attack in the densely populated cities of Gaza , Khan Yunis and Rafah .

As with the earlier Khan Yunis massacre , circumstances surrounding the events which led to Causation the deaths of approximately 111 residents of Rafah and the nearby refugee camp are highly disputed Quarreling , with Israel neither denying nor acknowledging any wrongdoing , while admitting Coming_to_believe that a number of refugees were killed Killing during a screening operation .

Dozens of summary executions Rewards_and_punishments took place Process_start of Palestinians who had been taken Conquering prisoner , and hundreds of civilians were killed Killing as Israeli forces combed through areas like Khan Yunis , and others died Death in several separate incidents .

On June 6 , 2007 , the IDF arrested Arrest Jihad Salah Saliman Abu Dahar , a Palestinian member of Islamic Jihad from the Khan Yunis area , who according to Shin Bet officials admitted to several acts of violence , including the attack on Hatuel and her daughters .