The residents are very scared and confused, reports a reporter from Al Jazeera who is in place in the city. According to the report, the Palestinians fear that Rafah will suffer the same fate as other cities further north, where residential buildings and infrastructure have been leveled in Israeli attacks.
Over 1 million internally displaced people are in the city, and the international community has long warned that a Rafah offensive will lead to the loss of many people’s lives.
Both border crossings leading into the city – Rafah and Kerem Shalom – are closed – which means that all emergency aid deliveries have been stopped.
Thinks closed border = death sentence
The Rafah crossing leads to Egypt and is the only one that has so far not been controlled by Israel. But on Tuesday night, Israeli soldiers took control of the Palestinian side of the border.
The border crossing has been used to evacuate severely injured and seriously ill patients to hospitals in Egypt. Now it is also closed for patient transport, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The UN’s emergency aid office also states that UN employees are denied access to the border crossing, and that no emergency aid escapes.
Gaza’s own border authorities say that Israel’s takeover of the Rafah crossing means a “death sentence” for Gaza’s residents, especially the sick and wounded.
The world condemns
The EU, China, Turkey and Egypt have come up with strong reactions to the fact that Israel has moved into Rafah despite the warnings of a united international community.
– I’m afraid this will lead to many deaths, to many civilians dying, no matter what they say. There are no safe zones in Gaza, says EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell to the press on Tuesday.
Turkey calls the ground offensive “another war crime”, and China asks Israel to listen to the international community and prevent the disaster in Gaza from getting even worse, Egypt says the offensive threatens the possibility of establishing a permanent ceasefire.
Before Israel sent soldiers across the border, they asked the Palestinians east of Rafah to evacuate. They were asked to go to areas further north, which are in ruins as a result of the Israeli warfare, and which Israel has previously asked them to leave.
According to Israel, most of the residents as well as international organizations had left the area on Tuesday.
At least 20 killed
Palestinian health authorities stated on Tuesday that at least 20 Palestinians have been killed and several others injured in Israeli air and ground attacks once morest at least four houses east of Rafah during the night.
The Israeli military, for its part, says it has killed regarding 20 fighters and found three tunnel shafts.
For its part, Hamas’ armed wing reports that it has carried out rocket attacks once morest Israeli soldiers at the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
Negotiations continue
The ground offensive has been launched at the same time as negotiations on a cease-fire agreement are still ongoing, and following a weekend where Hamas’ negotiators were in Cairo to meet mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States.
Just before the ground offensive began, Hamas announced that it had agreed to a proposal from Egypt and Qatar. But this was on the contrary rejected by Israel, which has long insisted that it is necessary to move into Rafah to remove Hamas from power.
An important part of the negotiations revolves around the release of the approximately 100 remaining hostages, who were captured by Hamas and other armed Palestinians in the October 7 attack. They are believed to be in Rafah and their fate is highly uncertain.
Battles in the North
At the same time, fighting is taking place further north in the Gaza Strip.
According to residents, Israel has attacked areas at Beit Lahia, Jabalia and Beit Hanoun. The whole of Gaza has for a long time been affected by food shortages, and in the north there is now a full-blown famine which is regarding to spread south, according to the UN.
The invasion comes exactly seven months following the Hamas attack on Israel – which claimed over 1,100 lives – and which prompted Israel to declare war on Hamas.
Since then, according to the Palestinian health authorities, close to 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, a large majority of whom are civilians. In addition, it is believed that around 10,000 dead are buried in the ruins.
In the last 24 hours, a further 54 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, the health authorities in Gaza report, which is a doubling compared to the 24-hour figure in recent days.
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2024-05-07 11:51:43
