Gaza, May 7 (IANS): At least 20 people have been killed in Israel's continuous attacks on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip since Tuesday, the media reported.

Israel targeted at least four residential buildings in Rafah, injuring dozens of people, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa's report.

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a press statement on Tuesday that their militants "attacked Israeli soldiers stationed around the Rafah crossing" as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

Israel's military said on Tuesday that it had started "a precise counterterrorism operation" in Rafah city in the south of the Gaza Strip and assumed "operational control" over the Rafah crossing in Gaza.

The crossing, which has served as a passage for humanitarian aid from Egypt to war-torn Gaza, was out of service.

Since the beginning of the assault overnight on Monday, Israel said it had taken control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, with the Israeli forces killing at least 20 militants.

Israeli forces attacked the Rafah city from the ground and air, the military said, as residents reported heavy and relentless bombardments.

The military said it had struck "military structures, underground infrastructure, and three operational tunnel shafts".