Israel Advances Further into Rafah, Over 450,000 Palestinians Displaced
by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Israeli tanks advanced deeper into eastern Rafah on Tuesday, reaching residential areas of the southern border city, where over a million displaced individuals had sought refuge amid the conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
The United Nations reports that escalating Israeli military operations in southern and northern Gaza have displaced more than half a million Palestinians in recent days. According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, around 450,000 Palestinians were forced to flee Rafah in Gaza’s south over the past week. Before Israel’s advance, approximately 1.3 million people had been sheltering in Rafah, which Israel identifies as the last Hamas stronghold.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) initially concentrated their operation on the eastern section of Rafah, seizing a key roadway that effectively splits the city in half. “The tanks advanced this morning west of Salahuddin Road into the Brzail and Jneina neighborhoods. They are in the streets inside the built-up area, and there are clashes,” one resident told Reuters via a messaging app. Regional media also reports that a “video on social media showed one tank on George Street in the Al-Jneina neighborhood.”
Israel’s international allies and aid groups have repeatedly urged against a ground incursion into the densely populated refugee area of Rafah, warning of a potential humanitarian catastrophe. Israel maintains that it is evacuating civilians before advancing into new areas and asserts that the Rafah operation is crucial to eliminating the remaining operational battalions of Hamas.
A Monday night CNN report indicated that the Biden administration believes Israel has now amassed enough ground forces on the edge of Rafah to conduct a full-scale invasion of the city in the coming days. However, the report states that “senior US officials are currently unsure if it has made a final decision to carry out such a move in direct defiance of President Joe Biden,” according to two senior administration officials who spoke to CNN.
In a recent statement, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stated, “The president was clear that he would not supply certain offensive weapons if such an operation were to occur.” He underscored in a Monday briefing, “It has not yet occurred.”
However, according to a Wall Street Journal report, the Biden administration has informed Congress that it is proceeding with over $1 billion in munitions sales to Israel. This includes up to $700 million in tank rounds, $500 million in tactical vehicles, and $60 million in mortar shells, intended to replenish stocks used during the war against Hamas.
Nonetheless, it may take years for all items in the deal to reach Israel. This report comes amid Biden facing pressure over his decision to freeze the transfer of large bombs to Israel due to concerns about their potential use in Rafah.
On Tuesday, the IDF announced a targeted airstrike on a Hamas war room located inside a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) school in Nuseirat, which was being used by commanders from Hamas’ military Nukhba wing. The operation resulted in the elimination of over 10 Hamas terrorists. The military emphasized that the strike employed precision munitions to minimize civilian casualties.
The IDF also disclosed that during operations on Saturday in eastern Rafah, terrorists were spotted within a UNRWA central logistics compound near UN vehicles. Footage from the scene showed multiple terrorists and gunfire around UN vehicles and within the area of UNRWA’s logistics warehouse, a key distribution point for aid in the Gaza Strip.
After the incident, representatives from the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) reported the findings to senior international officials. They urged the UN to urgently investigate the presence of terrorists within their logistics center compound in eastern Rafah. COGAT also highlighted the significant risks posed by these terrorists to the safety and integrity of the organization’s facilities, stressing the need for heightened security measures.
On Tuesday, the International Red Cross announced the opening of a field hospital in southern Gaza to address the “overwhelming” demand for health services in the city.
Tensions have escalated between Israel and Egypt over the Rafah operation, with Cairo indicating it will not bring aid into Gaza through the crossing—a key entry point for goods—as long as Israeli forces control it.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Egypt’s anger stems partly from Israel’s previous assurances that any operation along the border would not occur without warning and that civilians would have “weeks” to depart. “None of these assurances materialized, with Israel giving us very short notice about entering the crossing,” an unidentified Egyptian official told the Journal.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry claims the war has killed over 35,000 people in the Strip, a figure that cannot be independently verified and does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Israel states it has killed approximately 15,000 terror operatives in Gaza, in addition to about 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7. Additionally, 272 Israeli soldiers have been killed during the ground offensive and operations along the Gaza border.
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