The Israeli army says it has taken control of the Rafah crossing. Shortly before, military reports and local media had reported the arrival of the troops, resulting in the interruption of humanitarian shipments.
The raid was announced immediately after the note from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, which explained how the Israeli war cabinet had unanimously decided to go ahead with the Rafah operation “to exert military pressure on Hamas with the aim of making progress in the release of hostages and other war objectives.” At the same time, the Jewish state will send a delegation to Cairo to hold talks with mediators in an attempt to find an agreement that meets its demands.
On social media Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari late yesterday evening had announced the start of the Israeli operation and had written that IDF forces were attacking and operating in a targeted manner against targets of the terrorist organization Hamas in the eastern area of Rafah. According to the Times of Israel, Palestinian sources report that Israeli tanks and troops are entering the Kerem Shalom crossing, bombarding the area from above and with artillery fire.
Yesterday in the morning, The Times of Israel reported, leaflets had been dropped in the eastern part of the citysent messages and phone calls which had served the IDF to alert the Palestinian population in the areas that had to be evacuated to Rafah in view of the planned offensive on the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The evacuation order issued by the Israeli army was also cited, which was giving indications on which routes to take to reach a designated humanitarian zone.
