NEW DELHI: Israeli forces launched aerial and ground attacks across the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of at least 38 Palestinians on Thursday and the Israeli military engaged in close combat with Hamas-led militants in areas of Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, according to health officials and Hamas media.
Residents reported that Israeli tanks advanced in the southeast of Rafah, approached the western district of Yibna, and continued operations in three eastern suburbs.
One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, described the situation saying, “The occupation (Israeli forces) is trying to move further to the west, they are on the edge of Yibna, which is densely populated. They didn’t invade it yet.”
“We hear explosions and we see black smoke coming up from the areas where the army has invaded. It was another very difficult night,” he added.
The ongoing Israeli assaults on the northern and southern edges of Gaza have led to a new wave of displacement, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing their homes. The main access routes for aid have been cut off, increasing the risk of famine.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza following a Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the capture of more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel’s assault in Gaza has claimed the lives of more than 35,000 people, with thousands more feared buried under the rubble, as reported by Gaza health authorities.
Israel maintains that attacking Rafah is necessary to eliminate the remaining Hamas fighters believed to be sheltering there.
The Israeli chief military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement said, “Hamas is in Rafah, Hamas has been holding our hostages in Rafah, which is why our forces are maneuvering in Rafah. We’re doing this in a targeted and precise way.”
“We’re protecting Gazan civilians in Rafah from being a layer of protection for Hamas, by encouraging them to temporarily evacuate to humanitarian areas… So far we have eliminated dozens of Hamas terrorists, exposed dozens of terror tunnels and destroyed vast amounts of infrastructure,” he added.
UNRWA, the main United Nations agency in Gaza, estimated that more than 800,000 people had fled Rafah since Israel began targeting the city in early May, despite international calls for restraint.
The Norwegian Refugee Council’s Emergency Response Leader in Gaza Suze van Meegan, highlighted the dire situation, describing, “The city of Rafah is now comprised of three entirely different worlds: the east is an archetypal war zone, the middle is a ghost town, and the west is a congested mass of people living in deplorable conditions.”
Simultaneously, Israeli forces intensified their ground offensive in Jabalia, where several residential areas have been razed, and struck the nearby town of Beit Hanoun, areas where Israel had previously declared major operations to be over.
Israel claims that returning to these areas is necessary to prevent Hamas from regrouping. The Israeli military said in a statement forces began conducting targeted raids in Beit Hanoun “to eliminate terrorists, locate and strike terror infrastructure, below and above the ground.”
In Gaza City, a senior Hamas security official, Diaa Aldeen Al-Shurafa, was killed in an Israeli strike while touring residential districts, according to the interior ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The Israeli military reported that three soldiers had been killed in the fighting on Wednesday, bringing the total number of soldiers killed since the Gaza incursions began on Oct. 20 to 286.
(With inputs from agencies)
Residents reported that Israeli tanks advanced in the southeast of Rafah, approached the western district of Yibna, and continued operations in three eastern suburbs.
One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, described the situation saying, “The occupation (Israeli forces) is trying to move further to the west, they are on the edge of Yibna, which is densely populated. They didn’t invade it yet.”
“We hear explosions and we see black smoke coming up from the areas where the army has invaded. It was another very difficult night,” he added.
The ongoing Israeli assaults on the northern and southern edges of Gaza have led to a new wave of displacement, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing their homes. The main access routes for aid have been cut off, increasing the risk of famine.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza following a Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the capture of more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel’s assault in Gaza has claimed the lives of more than 35,000 people, with thousands more feared buried under the rubble, as reported by Gaza health authorities.
Israel maintains that attacking Rafah is necessary to eliminate the remaining Hamas fighters believed to be sheltering there.
The Israeli chief military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement said, “Hamas is in Rafah, Hamas has been holding our hostages in Rafah, which is why our forces are maneuvering in Rafah. We’re doing this in a targeted and precise way.”
“We’re protecting Gazan civilians in Rafah from being a layer of protection for Hamas, by encouraging them to temporarily evacuate to humanitarian areas… So far we have eliminated dozens of Hamas terrorists, exposed dozens of terror tunnels and destroyed vast amounts of infrastructure,” he added.
UNRWA, the main United Nations agency in Gaza, estimated that more than 800,000 people had fled Rafah since Israel began targeting the city in early May, despite international calls for restraint.
The Norwegian Refugee Council’s Emergency Response Leader in Gaza Suze van Meegan, highlighted the dire situation, describing, “The city of Rafah is now comprised of three entirely different worlds: the east is an archetypal war zone, the middle is a ghost town, and the west is a congested mass of people living in deplorable conditions.”
Simultaneously, Israeli forces intensified their ground offensive in Jabalia, where several residential areas have been razed, and struck the nearby town of Beit Hanoun, areas where Israel had previously declared major operations to be over.
Israel claims that returning to these areas is necessary to prevent Hamas from regrouping. The Israeli military said in a statement forces began conducting targeted raids in Beit Hanoun “to eliminate terrorists, locate and strike terror infrastructure, below and above the ground.”
In Gaza City, a senior Hamas security official, Diaa Aldeen Al-Shurafa, was killed in an Israeli strike while touring residential districts, according to the interior ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The Israeli military reported that three soldiers had been killed in the fighting on Wednesday, bringing the total number of soldiers killed since the Gaza incursions began on Oct. 20 to 286.
(With inputs from agencies)