Israeli forces say they have taken control of Rafah crossing on Gaza side
An Israeli military official has confirmed that Israel has established operational control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which borders Egypt in southern Gaza.
Reuters reports that a Gaza border crossing authority spokesperson has told the news agency that the Rafah crossing was closed due to the presence of Israeli tanks.
Three humanitarian sources also told Reuters that the flow of aid through the crossing is now halted.
A military official says:
At the moment we have operational control of the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing and we have special forces scanning the crossing … That is what is happening in the upcoming hours. The operation is not over … I can’t give a timeline
Key events
Palestinian news agency Wafa is reporting that 20 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed by Israeli airstrikes on Rafah on Tuesday morning. It reports an additional person was killed by a strike on Gaza City. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
EU’s Borrell: Rafah offensive will lead to a lot of civilian deaths ‘whatever they say’
The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, has told the media that despite the explicit warnings of the EU, the US and others, Israel’s determination to carry out an offensive in Rafah will lead to the deaths of more civilians “whatever they say”
Reuters quotes him saying:
The Rafah offensive has started again, in spite all the requests of the international community, the US, the European Union member states, everybody asking Netanyahu not to attack.
I am afraid that this is going to cause again a lot of casualties, civilian casualties. Whatever they say. There are no safe zones in Gaza.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has reported a merchant vessel notifying it that the crew witnessed two explosions in close proximity south of Aden in Yemen.
More details soon …
This map from our graphics team shows the area that Israel’s military is operating in, having announced that it has seized control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing on the border between Gaza and Egypt.
Israel’s military has issued a handout picture of them operating at the Rafah crossing on the border between Gaza and Egypt. Yesterday Egypt said it had raised its military’s level of preparedness in northern Sinai, which borders the Gaza Strip.
Police in the Netherlands are reported to have made up to 125 arrests in ending a protest against the Israel-Gaza conflict at Amsterdam university.
Israel claims it had intelligence that ‘indicated Rafah crossing was being used for terrorist purposes’
The Israeli military has given an operational briefing on its official Telegramn channel, in which it claims it has targeted the Rafah crossing because it had “intelligence that indicated that the Rafah Crossing in eastern Rafah was being used for terrorist purposes”.
Describing the operation as “precise”, the IDF claimed:
Prior to the operation, the IDF encouraged residents in the area of eastern Rafah to temporarily evacuate to the expanded humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi, where the IDF has facilitated the expansion of field hospitals, tents, and an increase in water, food, and medical supplies. International organizations working in the area were also encouraged to temporarily evacuate prior to the beginning of the operation.
Unrwa, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, has indiciated that it would continue its operation in Rafah, where over one million people have fled to due to Israel’s military assault on other areas of Gaza.
The IDF statement continued:
Following intelligence that indicated that the Rafah Crossing in eastern Rafah was being used for terrorist purposes, IDF troops managed to establish operational control of the Gazan side of the crossing. On Sunday, mortars were fired from the area of the Rafah Crossing toward the area of the Kerem Shalom Crossing, as a result of which four IDF soldiers were killed and a number of other soldiers injured.
It then claimed to have killed what it said was approximately 20 Hamas fighters, and to have located “three operational tunnel shafts”.
It said the operation continues. The claims have not been independently verified.
Israel says Kerem Shalom crossing closed
In an early morning press briefing, the Israeli military says the Kerem Shalom crossing is closed on Tuesday for security reasons and will reopen once the security situation allows, reports Reuters.
It’s as the military confirms it has taken operational control of the Palestinian side of Gaza’s southern Rafah Crossing, which borders Egypt, and that special forces were scanning the area.
The IDF said forces had been operating since last night in a specific area of eastern Rafah, from which it said most people and some international organisations had evacuated.
Israeli military forces have taken control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, a key strategic objective and the sole gateway between Egypt and Gaza for humanitarian aid, Israeli military officials have confirmed.
“At the moment we have operational control of the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing and we have special forces scanning the crossing … That is what is happening in the upcoming hours. The operation is not over … I can’t give a timeline,” a military official said on Tuesday morning.
The spokesperson of the Gaza border authority on Tuesday confirmed the presence of Israeli tanks at the Rafah crossing. Aid officials in the territory said that the flow of aid through the crossing has been halted.
The Israeli operation comes as ahead of a new round of indirect negotiations on a ceasefire in Cairo following an announcement by Hamas leaders on Monday night that they would accept a recent proposal for a deal. Israeli officials say they will send a delegation for further talks although the deal did not meet its core demands and vowed to push ahead with an often threatened assault on Rafah.
Read the rest of our latest report here by Jason Burke in Jerusalem and Julian Borger in Washington
Israeli forces say they have taken control of Rafah crossing on Gaza side
An Israeli military official has confirmed that Israel has established operational control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which borders Egypt in southern Gaza.
Reuters reports that a Gaza border crossing authority spokesperson has told the news agency that the Rafah crossing was closed due to the presence of Israeli tanks.
Three humanitarian sources also told Reuters that the flow of aid through the crossing is now halted.
A military official says:
At the moment we have operational control of the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing and we have special forces scanning the crossing … That is what is happening in the upcoming hours. The operation is not over … I can’t give a timeline