Israel controls parts of Rafah – NRK Urix – Foreign news and documentaries

The Israeli Defense Forces say that their forces took control of the area on Tuesday evening.

The crossing is currently closed due to the presence of Israeli armored vehicles in the area, according to spokesmen for the border authorities in Gaza. Reuters reports.

The military operation continues east of Rafah. It is said that 20 Hamas members were killed, and several tunnels were destroyed. The Israeli army wrote it on a telegram.

The forces now have full control of the Palestinian side of the crossing.

Israel must have been told that it would withdraw after the operation, which would be limited in scope, the Associated Press reported.

The Rafah crossing is now closed due to the presence of Israeli armored vehicles there.

The Israeli army also closed the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel, Egypt and Rafah. Last Monday evening, Netanyahu promised US Prime Minister Joe Biden that Israel would keep the transitional phase open for humanitarian aid.

Egyptian and Palestinian officials told the Associated Press on Tuesday evening that the tanks entered the city located in the southern Gaza Strip, and that they were closest to a distance of 200 meters from the Egyptian border.

Rafah is located in the far south of the Gaza Strip, and is bordered by the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.

Earlier on Monday, Palestinians in Rafah were asked to head to so-called humanitarian zones in anticipation of the long-announced Israeli ground invasion. Israel says “targeted attacks” were carried out against Hamas targets in Rafah.

Violent attacks on Rafah last night

Agence France-Presse reported that violent attacks occurred on Rafah on Tuesday night.

Israel bombed the city from the air and from the ground.

The Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah reported that it received at least 11 dead and dozens of wounded after the Israeli attacks.

Pressure in negotiations

On Sunday, ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip collapsed. They were scheduled to start again on Tuesday.

On Monday evening, it was learned that Hamas had accepted the ceasefire proposal submitted by Egypt and Qatar. The news was celebrated in Rafah, where people feared an Israeli ground invasion.

But the joy did not last long, as Israel rejected the proposal.

An Israeli source was quick to say that the proposal appears to be an attempt to show that Israel is the party that refuses to approve the agreement.

Now the negotiations continued. And so is the attack.

On Tuesday, Qatar sent a delegation to the Egyptian capital, Cairo. Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu also said that they would send an Israeli delegation.

He has said several times, most recently last night, that he will go ahead with plans for a ground invasion of Rafah regardless of the negotiations. Hamas' acceptance of the ceasefire proposal does not change this matter.

Now the negotiations continued. And so is the attack.

I ordered the evacuation

Israel ordered the evacuation of 100,000 Rafah residents on Monday morning. This included dropping leaflets, making phone calls, and sending letters to those remaining in the eastern neighborhoods of the city, with clear instructions to leave the area.

They have been asked to flee to what Israel calls an extended humanitarian zone. It is located in the city of Khan Yunis, which is the largest city in the southern Gaza Strip. The city itself came under air and ground attack in December and January after civilians in northern Gaza were told to evacuate there.