Droves of fighter planes of the Israel Air Force have started bombing Rafiah around 9:00 p.m. Wednesday.

The Al-Jazeera television network previously reported that the air force was distributing leaflets in the Rafiah area in southern Gaza ordering residents along the Philadelphi Corridor to evacuate their homes by 8:00 p.m.

The Philadelphi Corridor in southern Gaza has been used by Hamas terrorists to smuggle arms through tunnels connecting Egypt. Prior to previous airstrikes against the tunnels, the IDF has warned the Gaza residents of an imminent attack.

IAF aircraft have struck more than 40 additional targets, among them a number of tunnels that were used by Hamas for transporting military equipment, arms caches near IDF forces, and rocket launching points.