JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military confirmed Friday that its forces are operating in central areas of Rafah as part of its expanded offensive in southern Gaza City.
Israel launched its ground attack on the city on May 6, triggering an exodus of around a million Palestinians from the city and throwing UN humanitarian operations based in the region into turmoil. However, this does not yet constitute a “major operation” in the eyes of the administration of US President Joe Biden, according to the State Department.
Biden said Friday that Hamas was “no longer capable” of carrying out another large-scale attack on Israel and urged the Israelis and Hamas to reach an agreement to release the remaining hostages for a ceasefire. -prolonged fire. He said Israeli officials had proposed a three-phase deal to Hamas, adding: “Israel has made its proposal. Hamas says it wants a ceasefire. This deal is an opportunity to prove if they really mean it. »
Ceasefire negotiations broke down earlier this month after heavy pressure from the United States and other mediators to reach an agreement, hoping to avoid a full Israeli invasion of Rafah.
Friday’s statement from the Israeli military suggests that its forces are operating in most areas of the city. In the first weeks, the Israeli assault focused on the eastern districts of Rafah and areas near the border with Egypt. Israeli troops seized the Rafah crossing into Egypt on the first day of the offensive and have since claimed control of the Philadelphia Corridor, a route that runs along the Gaza-Egypt border on the Gaza side.
Earlier this week, Israeli troops also entered the Tel al-Sultan district, west of Rafah, where violent clashes with Hamas fighters were reported by witnesses.
In its statement Friday, the army said its troops in central Rafah had discovered Hamas rocket launchers and tunnels and dismantled a weapons storage facility of the group. He did not specify where the operations were taking place in central Rafah, but earlier statements and witness reports cited raids in the Shaboura refugee camp and other sites near the city center.
The White House declined to comment Friday on Israeli operations in central Rafah.
Israel said an offensive in Rafah was vital to root out Hamas fighters as part of its military campaign to destroy the group following its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. The military said it had discovered dozens of tunnels in eastern Rafah, including at least 20 along the Philadelphia corridor.
Around 300,000 people are estimated to remain in the Rafah area, with an unknown number still in the city itself. Most have flocked to rural areas on the Mediterranean coast west of the city, said Shaina Low, a spokeswoman for the Norwegian Refugee Council, a humanitarian group that operates in the region. This area was the scene of deadly Israeli strikes last week.
Palestinians who fled the city have scattered across southern and central Gaza, most living in squalid tent camps.
More than 36,170 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israel’s campaign of bombings and offensives over the past eight months, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Its count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas to ensure it cannot repeat its October 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping about 250 others. Around a hundred hostages are still believed to be in captivity in Gaza, with the bodies of around thirty others.
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Associated Press correspondent Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
News Source : apnews.com
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