The Israeli army deployed tanks Tuesday in Rafah and took control of the border crossing with Egypt in the south of the Gaza Strip, cutting off access for humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory.
Seven months after the start of the war with Hamas, the army released images showing tanks flying the Israeli flag deployed in Rafah, on the Palestinian side of the border area, and claimed to be carrying out a counterterrorism operation in specific areas of east of Rafah.
Overnight bombings on the city left at least 27 dead, according to two hospitals in Rafah.
The day before, the army had called for the evacuation of tens of thousands of families from the east of the city, which is home to a total of 1.4 million Palestinians, according to the UN, in anticipation of a ground offensive that the Prime Minister Israeli, Benjamin Netanyahu, promised to launch to eliminate the last battalions of Hamas.
Blocked humanitarian convoys
The UN announced on Tuesday that access from Egypt to the Rafah crossing point, the main entry point for humanitarian aid, vital for the population of Gaza, was prohibited by the Israeli army.
In Egypt, hundreds of trucks loaded with fuel and humanitarian aid are blocked after the closure of the Rafah crossing point and that of Kerem Shalom, between Israel and the Gaza Strip, according to Egyptian sources.
The UN also confirmed that it only had one day’s fuel reserve left for humanitarian operations in Gaza, due to the closure of Rafah.
While Israel continues its military operations, new discussions must take place in Cairo after the green light given by Hamas to a draft agreement presented by the mediating countries to try to end the war, triggered on October 7 by an attack unprecedented launched by the Islamist movement against Israel.
This proposal is far from Israeli demands, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Hamas authorities, for their part, accused Israel on Tuesday of deliberately exacerbating the humanitarian crisis by closing the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossing points, and targeting hospitals and schools during its aggression in eastern Rafah.
Head west
The army announced Tuesday that it had taken operational control of the Palestinian part of the crossing with Egypt and announced that ground troops had begun a targeted counterterrorism operation in eastern Rafah.
An armored unit maneuvered in the area. “At this moment, special forces are inspecting the crossing point,” the army added.
We had clues, including the rocket fire on Sunday, against the Kerem Shalom crossing point between Israel and Gaza which killed four Israeli soldiers, but also intelligence, that the Gazan part of the crossing point (…) “was used by Hamas for terrorist purposes,” the army explained.
On Tuesday, the armed wing of Hamas announced that it had fired rockets at a gathering of Israeli troops around Kerem Shalom, closed since previous shootings.
The army claimed that these rockets were fired from Rafah.
The day before, ordered to evacuate by the Israeli army, thousands of desperate men, women and children, many already displaced by the war, had hastily packed some belongings, without really knowing where to go.
“We are terrified, it’s not easy to be moved from one place to another,” Hanah Saleh, a 40-year-old displaced man from the north of the Gaza Strip, told AFP. We’re going to head west from Rafah, but we don’t know exactly where. And everyone is asking the question, he added.
The army dropped leaflets calling for evacuations to the humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi, around ten kilometers from Rafah. But residents and humanitarian organizations describe areas already overpopulated or destroyed by war.
Pressure on Hamas
On Monday evening, Hamas said it had informed Egypt and Qatar, the mediating countries with the United States, that it had approved their proposal for a ceasefire agreement.
Israel decided to send a delegation to Cairo, while continuing its Rafah operations, in order to exert military pressure on Hamas with the aim of progressing towards the release of the hostages and other objectives of the war, according to the services of the Prime Minister.
Qatar also announced the sending of a delegation to Cairo on Tuesday to relaunch indirect negotiations.
According to the number two in Hamas Gaza’s political wing, Khalil al-Hayya, the proposal includes three phases, each lasting 42 days, and includes a complete Israeli withdrawal from the territory, the return of the displaced and an exchange of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, with the aim of a permanent ceasefire.
Israel has so far opposed a ceasefire until Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007, has been defeated.
The Islamist movement, considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union, for its part demands a definitive ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, prior to any agreement.
The war broke out on October 7 when Hamas commandos infiltrated from the Gaza Strip launched an attack in southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to a report by the AFP established from official Israeli data.
More than 250 people have been kidnapped and 128 remain captive in Gaza, including 35 dead, according to the army.
In retaliation, Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip which has so far left 34,789 dead, mainly civilians, including at least 54 in 24 hours, according to the Hamas Health Ministry.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reaffirmed on Monday that a ground operation on Rafah would be intolerable due to its devastating humanitarian consequences and launched a strong appeal to both sides to reach a “vital agreement.”
