Gaza – Palestinian factions reported, yesterday, Wednesday, that clashes continued with Israeli forces penetrating areas east of the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian faction movement announced, in separate statements on Telegram, that it bombarded “with heavy-caliber mortar shells the (Israeli) enemy’s soldiers and vehicles penetrating the vicinity of the airport, east of the city of Rafah.”
It added that its fighters “also bombed enemy soldiers and vehicles penetrating east of the city of Rafah with a barrage of 60-caliber regular mortar shells.”
In a third bombardment, fighters of the faction movement targeted, with a barrage of heavy-caliber mortar shells, advanced enemy soldiers and vehicles in the Al-Shoka neighborhood, east of Rafah, according to the same source.
For its part, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the faction movement, announced in a statement on Telegram that it had bombed “enemy forces’ concentrations in the Karam Shalom military site with a 114 mm short-range rajoum missile system,” for the second time within days.
Israel did not issue any immediate statement regarding these clashes revealed by the Palestinian factions until (14:00 GMT).
On Wednesday morning, the “Al-Qassam Brigades” said that they were “engaging in fierce clashes with enemy forces penetrating east of the city of Rafah,” while the “Al-Quds Brigades” reported in another statement that their fighters were “engaging in fierce clashes with machine guns and appropriate weapons with enemy soldiers and vehicles penetrating east of the city of Rafah.”
The clashes are taking place the day following the Israeli army invaded the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, as part of what was claimed to be a “limited scope” operation that has been continuing in Rafah since Monday morning.
On Monday, the army issued warnings to regarding 100,000 Palestinians to evacuate the eastern areas of Rafah to the non-residential Al-Mawasi area southwest of the Gaza Strip. Which sparked condemnations of this forced displacement.
Claiming that it is “the last stronghold of the factional movement,” Israel threatens a massive invasion of Rafah, despite international warnings of catastrophic repercussions. Due to the presence of 1.5 million Palestinians in the city, including 1.4 million displaced as a result of the war.
With the mediation of Egypt and Qatar and the participation of the United States, Israel and the faction movement in Cairo will resume indirect negotiations on Wednesday, in an attempt to reach a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
The faction movement previously announced, on Monday, its acceptance of the proposed Egyptian-Qatari agreement, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that it “does not meet his country’s requirements,” and declared his commitment to continuing the military operation in Rafah.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a war on Gaza, leaving regarding 113,000 dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and regarding 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly.
Israel continues the war despite the issuance of a resolution by the UN Security Council to stop the fighting immediately, and also despite the International Court of Justice demanding immediate measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Anatolia
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2024-05-10 09:02:16
