Israeli military take control of Rafah crossing
Published: 07:05 AM,May 07,2024 | EDITED : 11:05 AM,May 07,2024
Israeli military operates in the Gazan side of the Rafah Crossing
CAIRO - The Israeli military took control of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Tuesday, pushing into the southern Gazan town after a night of air strikes and as prospects for a ceasefire deal hung in the balance.
Hamas said late on Monday it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal from mediators seven months into the war that has pushed more than a million Gazans into the south of the enclave. Israel said the terms did not meet its demands and launched a military operation in Rafah.
Israeli tanks and planes pounded several areas and houses in Rafah overnight, killing 20 Palestinians and wounding several others in strikes that hit at least four houses, Palestinian health officials said.
'The Israeli occupation has sentenced the residents of the Strip to death after the closure of the Rafah border crossing,' said Hisham Edwan, spokesman for the Gaza Border Crossing Authority.
It also condemned to death cancer patients due to the collapse of the healthcare system, he added.
Israel has been threatening to launch a major incursion in Rafah. Victory is impossible without taking Rafah, it says.
RAFAH CROSSING CLOSED
A Gaza border authority spokesperson told Reuters the Rafah crossing, a major route for aid into the devastated enclave, was closed because of the presence of Israeli tanks. Israel's Army Radio had earlier announced its forces were there.
The United States has been pressing Israel not to launch a military campaign in Rafah until it has drawn up a humanitarian plan for the Palestinians sheltering there, which Washington says it has yet to see.
Israel said the vast majority of people had been evacuated from the area of military operations. Instructed by Arabic text messages, phone calls, and flyers to move to what the Israeli military called an 'expanded humanitarian zone' around 20 km (12 miles) away, some Palestinian families began trundling away in chilly spring rain.
Hamas said late on Monday it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal from mediators seven months into the war that has pushed more than a million Gazans into the south of the enclave. Israel said the terms did not meet its demands and launched a military operation in Rafah.
Israeli tanks and planes pounded several areas and houses in Rafah overnight, killing 20 Palestinians and wounding several others in strikes that hit at least four houses, Palestinian health officials said.
'The Israeli occupation has sentenced the residents of the Strip to death after the closure of the Rafah border crossing,' said Hisham Edwan, spokesman for the Gaza Border Crossing Authority.
It also condemned to death cancer patients due to the collapse of the healthcare system, he added.
Israel has been threatening to launch a major incursion in Rafah. Victory is impossible without taking Rafah, it says.
RAFAH CROSSING CLOSED
A Gaza border authority spokesperson told Reuters the Rafah crossing, a major route for aid into the devastated enclave, was closed because of the presence of Israeli tanks. Israel's Army Radio had earlier announced its forces were there.
The United States has been pressing Israel not to launch a military campaign in Rafah until it has drawn up a humanitarian plan for the Palestinians sheltering there, which Washington says it has yet to see.
Israel said the vast majority of people had been evacuated from the area of military operations. Instructed by Arabic text messages, phone calls, and flyers to move to what the Israeli military called an 'expanded humanitarian zone' around 20 km (12 miles) away, some Palestinian families began trundling away in chilly spring rain.