Israeli forces have intensified their ground operations east of Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip bordering Egypt, Israeli military spokesman Aviche Atrey said on Tuesday.
Speaking to the Al-Hurra website, Adraee said: “We are finalizing the operational control of the area on the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing,” noting that “an official statement will be issued soon on the details he declined to divulge.”
In a related context, Israeli military radio announced on Tuesday that Israeli forces are taking control of the Palestinian enclave of the Rafah crossing.
For his part, the website said “Axios“The Israeli army seeks to control the Palestinian area of the Rafah border crossing during a military operation in the southern city.
On Tuesday morning, Egypt’s official Cairo News Channel reported gunfire from the Rafah border crossing on the Egyptian side.
A Palestinian security official and an Egyptian official said Israeli tanks approached Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, and came within 200 meters of the border crossing with Egypt, the Associated Press reported.
Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization in the United States and other countries, has not commented on the Israeli military’s claim of control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.
According to Israeli officials, the fighting erupted following an unprecedented Hamas attack on areas and bases adjacent to the Gaza Strip on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people, most of them civilians, including women and children.
During the Hamas offensive, more than 250 people were abducted, 129 of whom are still being held in the Gaza Strip, including 34 who may have died, according to Israeli officials.
In response to the attack, Israel vowed to “eliminate the movement” and then launched a bombing campaign followed by ground operations from October 27, resulting in the deaths of 34,735 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced.
