Israel takes Rafah border crossing, Egypt calls it dangerous escalation

NOS News•today, 08:18•Amended today, 1:49 PM

The Israeli army has taken over the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza. According to an army statement, soldiers killed at least twenty Hamas members and destroyed tunnels in fighting.

Israel carried out heavy air strikes on Rafah last evening and night. According to the AP news agency, at least 23 people were killed, including six women and five children. The Israeli army says it is operating “in several locations” in eastern Rafah.

The Israeli ground attack has been strongly condemned internationally. Egypt, which is on the other side of the captured border crossing, calls it a dangerous escalation that threatens the more than a million Gazan civilians sheltering in Rafah. Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister speaks of a “new war crime” by Israel.

“I’m afraid there will be many civilian casualties,” says EU foreign policy chief Borrell. “There are no safe zones in Gaza.” Israel yesterday ordered citizens to leave the eastern part of the city. According to the army, most people have now left, but this information cannot be verified.

An anonymous source tells CNN that this is a “limited” operation. According to the official, who is said to be familiar with the Israeli plan, the aim is mainly to put pressure on Hamas at the negotiating table. Hamas claims that the government in Tel Aviv is trying to thwart the talks. Conversely, Israel says the same about Hamas.

Israel released these images of the tanks at the Rafah border crossing:

Israeli army shares images of capture of Rafah border post

The admission of humanitarian aid through the Rafah border crossing has been halted. This concerns the border post between the southern city in Gaza and Egypt.

The nearby border crossing at Kerem Shalom, which is also essential for the access of emergency aid, will also remain closed for the time being. Hamas had attacked it with rockets the day before yesterday. According to Israel, four Israeli soldiers were killed. The army said armed militants had targeted the border crossing from Rafah. Mortar shelling was again reported at Kerem Shalom today.

The UN aid agency for Palestinians UNRWA is calling for border crossings to be reopened as soon as possible. “Catastrophic hunger in northern Gaza will become much worse if supply routes are lost,” the organization says on X.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza suffer from severe malnutrition. There is effectively a famine in northern Gaza, the director of the UN World Food Program said last weekend.

According to UN aid agency OCHA, Gaza only has fuel for one day. The supply of petrol and diesel is crucial to generate electricity for hospitals, for example.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has been threatening for weeks that Israel will invade the city to fight Hamas. According to Israel, thousands of Hamas fighters are still active there and hostages are being held there, according to the country.

In the background are the advanced talks about a ceasefire with Hamas. The militant movement yesterday agreed to a ceasefire proposal, but Israel has not yet.

It is not uncommon for warring parties to launch last-minute attacks on each other in this phase of negotiations in the hope of obtaining as many concessions as possible from the opposing side.