Palestinians flee as IDF tanks seize the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing. Photo: AFP via Getty Images
Israel said on Tuesday it had seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing to cut Hamas' «lifeline.»
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tanks were used in the overnight operation ) entered the Gaza Strip to seize a checkpoint. , which was used to deliver humanitarian aid.
Video footage of the operation showed one tank overturning and smashing a welcome sign that read “I love Gaza.” In another video, you can see tanks with huge Israeli flags driving along the road near the border with Egypt.
Israeli officials said the raid was «very limited» in scope, suggesting it was not a prelude to war. immediate ground operation in Rafah, which is strongly opposed by the US and Western allies.
The raid came after Israel on Monday rejected Hamas's agreement to a ceasefire proposal, saying the agreement to which the terror group had signed up , does not meet its key requirements.
Avi Hyman, a spokesman for the National Office of Public Diplomacy, said Israel will no longer allow the crossing to carry supplies to Hamas.
“This is the beginning of our mission to destroy the last four Hamas brigades in Rafah,” he said, dashing hopes of a hostage deal in the near future.
In a separate briefing, Israeli government spokesman David Menser said Hamas has «cross-border underground smuggling tunnels» under the Rafah crossing infrastructure.
«These Hamas tunnels need to be eliminated to cut off weapons to terrorists,» Mr. n Menser.
On Tuesday, Israel sent a “mid-level” delegation to Cairo to discuss the Hamas proposal in more detail, which should also include Bill Burns, director of the CIA.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this. he will not sign up to any agreement that would require Israel to stop fighting in the Gaza Strip after releasing the 133 hostages currently held by Hamas.
The Hamas leadership has made it clear that a final end to the war is their main goal in the negotiations.
IDF operations at the Rafah checkpoint have jeopardized humanitarian aid supplies into the area, the UN and other aid agencies said.
“We currently do not have any physical presence at the Rafah crossing because we have been denied access by… Kogatom [Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories],” a UN OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) spokesman told a news conference in Geneva. questions) Jens Laerke, referring to the IDF agency that oversees supplies to the Palestinian territories. .
All fuel entering Gaza passes through Rafah, Mr. Laerke said, warning that the enclave only has enough fuel for one day.
The World Health Organization has also confirmed that Israel does not allow the transfer of patients through Rafah.
Another Gaza supply checkpoint has remained closed since Sunday, when a Hamas mortar attack targeted Israeli troops in a beachhead nearby, killing four of them.
On another mortar attack on the checkpoint Kerem Shalom received a report early Tuesday morning. .
In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians reacted with alarm to initial reports that Israeli tanks were operating along the border with Egypt.
The UN has called on Israel to reopen the crossing as Rafah residents prepare to leave the country. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
Speaking to The Telegraph by phone, student Mohammad Najar, who lives in western Rafah, said the night had been “very difficult.”
From east to west, the width of Rafah does not exceed 15 kilometers (9). miles), he said, so the IDF is “very close” to where he is and everyone is “of course worried about what might happen next.
“Until then, we can hear the bombing,” he said after a night of artillery, drone and air strikes.
On Tuesday, the Palestinian Authority called on the US to “intervene immediately” to stop the invasion Israel in Rafah.
Israeli strike in eastern Rafah. Israel says the operation is «very limited»; in volume Photo: HATEM KHALED/REUTERS
Nabil Abu Rudeina, spokesman for the Palestinian president, said Israel had committed a “crime” by seizing the Gaza Strip at the Rafah crossing and criticized the “unacceptable international silence.”
Mr Netanyahu's critics warn that Israel's decision to enter Rafah, despite warnings from allies, is damaging its global standing and the prospects for a hostage deal.
“If this move disrupts the hostage deal, it will be very serious. There is a lie and a delusion here, entirely created by Netanyahu, as if the Rafah story is [the key] to either ultimate success or complete failure, and there is nothing more meaningless than that,” Major General Yair Golan. , a former member of parliament, told Israel Army Radio.
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