Israeli Forces Intensify Rafah Raid, Kill 27 Across Gaza

As tanks moved farther into northwest Rafah close to the Egyptian border, Israeli forces killed at least 27 Palestinians on Friday in tank and aerial strikes on the northern and central regions of the Gaza Strip, according to medics.

While a parallel conflict involving Hamas’ allies in the Lebanon-Israel border region grew more intense, the Israelis and Hamas militants in the enclave continued their ceaseless fighting.

Meanwhile, some Palestinians who had been uprooted by Israel’s attack on Gaza claimed they were afraid tall waves would overwhelm their makeshift camp by the sea.

Palestinian health officials reported that six more people were killed in an airstrike on a house in Gaza City, and eight people were killed and several injured in an Israeli tank shelling in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central region of Gaza.

Several Palestinians were injured and killed in the northern town of Beit Hanoun by an Israeli strike on a car, according to medical personnel.

The proportion of combatants to civilians among the dead was unclear.

With the support of aircraft, tanks moved farther northwest in the southern city of Rafah, where the Israeli army has been stationed since May, according to locals.

Additionally, residents and Hamas media reported hearing explosions and heavy fire coming from the eastern parts of the city, where Israeli forces had demolished multiple houses.

The Hamas armed wing said in a statement, “Our fighters are engaged in fierce gun battles against Israeli forces, who advanced into Tanour neighbourhood in Rafah.”

According to the Israeli military, units stationed in Rafah have killed hundreds of Palestinian militants in recent weeks, discovered tunnels and explosives, and demolished military facilities.

International efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas have been centred around Israel’s demand to maintain control of the southern border line between Rafah and Egypt.

For months, the US and its envoys, Qatar and Egypt, have tried in vain to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The demands of Israel to maintain its forces in the Philadelphi corridor between Gaza and Egypt, as well as the details of an Israeli hostage exchange for Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel, have proven to be particularly challenging.