Israel takes control of Gaza side of Rafah crossing after night of shelling

The Israeli army confirmed on Tuesday that it has control of the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing with tanks, following a night of intense bombardment once morest the east of this southern town bordering Egypt.

Israeli forces are continuing to “scan” the crossing, the army said this morning, without specifying the number of ground troops present, although it stressed that it was a “precise and limited” operation once morest Hamas targets.

According to a military spokesman, the capture of the Gaza side of Rafah was carried out by the 401st Brigade – composed mostly of tanks – and the elite Givati ​​Brigade, and was prompted by the attack from this area carried out by Hamas two days earlier, in which four soldiers were killed, and which the Army confirmed was being used by militants.

Contrary to a statement by the Gazan Hamas government, which warned that the Israeli army’s evacuation order from eastern Rafah was having a “limited response,” the military spokesman said that a large part of the population was able to seek refuge in Al Mawasi, Khan Yunis, and that this facilitated the operation.

At least 18 Gazans died early Tuesday morning in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, following a night of constant bombings, including on homes, following the Israeli War Cabinet announced late yesterday that it would not stop its military “operation” despite continuing to exhaust the possibility of a truce.

The army, for its part, said it had killed 20 suspected militants in the eastern area of ​​Rafah with fighter jets and ground troops, in addition to having discovered three Hamas tunnels and destroyed a vehicle with explosives.

The entry of humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing, vital for supplying the Gaza Strip and used by Gazans seeking refuge in Egypt following seven months of war, is also paralyzed.

«The entire eastern region of Rafah has been the scene of operations since yesterday and the bombing has not stopped for a moment.the representative of the Rafah land crossing in the Palestinian enclave confirmed to EFE.

“(The crossings) have been out of service since yesterday followingnoon and there are no crews due to the direct attacks on the entire area, both aid and travelers are suspended,” he added.