Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is threatening to launch a major ground offensive on the city of Rafah, home to 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom have been displaced by the war, according to the UN, to eliminate the last battalions of the Islamist movement.
On Tuesday, the army deployed tanks to Rafah and took control of the border crossing with Egypt, cutting off the main gateway for aid convoys to the besieged Palestinian territory.
Ahead of this deployment, the army on Monday called on tens of thousands of families to evacuate several neighborhoods in the east of the city, as part of its plans to “dismantle Hamas,” which has been in power in Gaza since 2007. attack that started the war.
Israeli soldiers continued their “targeted operations on the Gaza side of the eastern Rafah crossing on Wednesday based on reports of terrorists operating in the area,” the army said.
“Several terrorists were eliminated in the clashes” from the previous day, while soldiers discovered and destroyed “tunnel openings”, she added.
Aviation, according to the military, hit “more than 100 targets” of armed groups across the territory.
In Rafa, during the night, injured people and bodies were removed from the ruins of houses destroyed in the bombing, in front of crying residents.
“We are very afraid. The occupation army continues to indiscriminately fire shells at neighborhoods in eastern Rafah, in addition to intensifying airstrikes,” 29-year-old town resident Mouhanad Ahmad Qishta told AFP.
“Even areas that the Israeli army presented as safe were bombed,” he added.
The war broke out on October 7 when Hamas commandos infiltrating the Gaza Strip launched an unprecedented attack on Israel that killed more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report Israel data.
More than 250 people have been abducted and 128 remain trapped in Gaza, of whom 36 are believed to have died, the military said.
In response, the Israeli military launched an offensive that has so far killed 34,844, according to Hamas’ health ministry, including 55 in 24 hours.
Under pressure from the United States, its main ally, Israel on Wednesday announced the reopening of the Kerem Shalom crossing, near Rafah, closed since Sunday after Hamas rocket fire killed four soldiers.
Trucks from Egypt carrying food, water and medicine have arrived in Kerem Shalom and are scheduled to enter the Gaza Strip after inspection.
Another crossing from Israel, Erez, from where aid is transferred to northern Gaza, continues to operate, according to the army.
The UN said on Tuesday that it had only one day left in fuel reserves for humanitarian operations in Gaza and called for the crossing to be reopened.
Hospitals in southern Gaza had only “three days of fuel” left on Wednesday, “which means they could soon stop working,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned.
Washington considered the closure of the crossing “unacceptable”, while the population of Gaza is at risk of starvation, according to the UN.
The United States also “suspended a shipment” of bombs to Israel after the country failed to respond to “concerns” about the Rafah offensive, a US official said.
Indirect talks resumed in Cairo on Wednesday, according to media close to Egyptian authorities, to try to reach a compromise on a ceasefire and avoid an attack on Rafah, where the UN said they feared a “bloodbath”.
Qatar, for its part, called on the international community to act to prevent “genocide” in Rafah.
Representatives of Israel and Hamas, as well as intermediary countries – Qatar, Egypt and the United States are present in the capital of Egypt.
Palestinian analyst Mkhaimar Abusada of Al-Azhar University in Gaza said the timing of Israel’s takeover of the Rafah crossing “could show that it is trying to sabotage the negotiations.” “This takeover is also a symbol shown to the world that Hamas is no longer in control,” he added.
On Monday, hours before the deployment of Israeli troops to Rafah, Hamas gave the green light to a proposal put forward by mediators.
This, according to the movement’s leader, Khalil al-Hayy, involves a three-phase ceasefire, each lasting 42 days, including Israel’s withdrawal from the territory, as well as the exchange of hostages in Gaza and Palestinians detained by Israel, with the aim of a “permanent ceasefire “.
Israel responded that the proposal was “far from its demands” and reiterated its opposition to a definitive ceasefire until Hamas, which it considers a terrorist organization along with the United States and the European Union, is defeated.
On Wednesday, a Hamas official again insisted on the Palestinians’ “legitimate demands” and spoke of a “decisive round” in Cairo.
Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed his delegation to “continue to be firm on the conditions necessary for the release” of the hostages and “essential” to Israel’s security.
“This could be the last chance” for Israel “to recover the captives (…) alive,” a Hamas official said.
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