© Photo by AFPAn Israeli battle tanks moves along the border with the Gaza Strip on May 7, 2024.
The Israeli army has entered the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, as West Jerusalem announced strikes against Hamas militants in the area.
In a statement on Tuesday morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was conducting "a precise counterterrorism operation in the eastern Rafah area" in a bid "to eliminate Hamas terrorists."
A video released by the IDF shows at least four Israeli tanks on the Gazan side of the Rafah Crossing on the border with Egypt. Part of the clip was apparently filmed by a soldier sitting on top of one of the vehicles.
The IDF also said its troops have "managed to establish operational control of the Gazan side of the crossing." It added that ground troops and the air force had destroyed Hamas military structures in the area, claiming to have eliminated approximately 20 militants.
Comment: Below are two articles that give more background and context for what happened.
Al Jazeera Staff published on 7 May 2024. Below are some points:
US plays down Rafah assault, says it will push for Gaza ceasefire dealOn how the US understands the negotiations:
The Biden administration says Israel has a 'legitimate goal' in seizing the Rafah crossing but calls for reopening the border.
[...]
Israel had stepped up its bombardment of Rafah on Monday, killing dozens of people after ordering about 100,000 residents in its eastern areas to evacuate. Israeli troops also stormed the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, which serves as a major gateway for humanitarian aid.
[...]
The Israeli attack closed the Rafah crossing, further straining the already inadequate flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Since October 9, Israel has intensified its existing blockade on the territory, bringing the Palestinian enclave to the verge of famine.
The Rafah crossing also serves as an entry point for humanitarian workers going into Gaza, and critically sick and injured people use it to leave the territory and receive treatment abroad.
[...]
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said 120 patients who were set to cross from Gaza to Egypt for treatment were prevented from leaving on Tuesday.
Shutting down the crossing also has blocked medical supplies and fuel needed to operate the remaining medical centres in the territory, the ministry said.
"The situation of patients in Gaza hospitals has been very difficult since the beginning of the war due to the loss of medical equipment and the total collapse of the health system," the ministry said in a statement.
"We have travel lists for sick and injured people in the thousands. And now they are prevented from leaving."
[...]
On Saturday, Israel also closed the Karem Abu Salem border crossing, also known as Kerem Shalom, barring aid trucks after Hamas launched a rocket attack on Israeli troops nearby, killing four soldiers.
On Tuesday, Miller falsely said the crossing between Gaza and Israel was "bombed" by Hamas when the crossing itself was not targeted.
[...]
The Israeli seizure of the Rafah gate came hours after Hamas said it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar that would see the release of Israeli captives in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, as well as an eventual end to the war.
Israel rejected the deal but said it would engage in further negotiations.
The administration of US President Joe Biden has been heavily involved in the talks. On Tuesday, Miller declined to provide many details about where things stand, but he denied that Hamas had actually accepted the agreement.From PressTV in Iran there was this article:
Instead, he said the Palestinian group responded to the proposal with suggestions as part of the negotiations process.
Tuesday, 07 May 2024 2:29 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 07 May 2024 2:44 PM ]
In attacking Rafah, Israel is sabotaging global efforts to stop Gaza war: Iran
Iran has strongly condemned Israel's incursion into the densely-populated city of Rafah in southern Gaza despite international warnings that it would create a humanitarian catastrophe.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani said the move is aimed at sabotaging international efforts to stop the regime's genocidal war in Gaza.
The Iranian official made the remarks in a statement on Tuesday, after Israeli forces seized control of the Rafah border crossing, cutting off a vital route for humanitarian aid for an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in the city bordering Egypt.
Kan'ani said Israel's invasion of the crossing shows the savagery of a rogue regime holding no commitment to any international norm and threatening international peace and security."This move by the (Israeli) regime has been made to render international efforts at the cessation of war and ending the genocide in Gaza futile and with the sole purpose of serving the individual and collective interests of the Zionists," he said.The Iranian official reiterated that the key to peace and security in the region is the "immediate and unconditional" cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.
He urged all international actors to mount pressure on the Israeli regime to stop the war.
Kan'ani said the responsibility for the crimes and bloodshed in Rafah lies with the Israeli regime and its main supporter, the United States."Iran once again calls on the international legal institutions to investigate the crimes against humanity committed by the apartheid regime and to bring its leaders to trial."The Israeli military seized control of the Rafah border crossing after advancing during the night through heavy bombardment of residential areas.
The regime says it would continue the operation in Rafah regardless of an agreement by the resistance movement Hamas to a ceasefire proposal put forward by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
About 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering in Rafah. The city had been designated a "safe zone" by the Israeli military.
Palestinians are now struggling to evacuate Rafah since the Israeli military dropped leaflets ordering them to leave.
UN agencies and humanitarian organizations are cautioning about the severe impact of an Israeli military operation in Rafah.
In 1945 and up to this day Auschwiz-Birkeanau has no birds .They stay away from this spiritual black hole rent by Man's own hands.
If as rumour has it,that Jared Kushner has already done the redevelopment deal with Bibi to make Gaza a tourist hotspot like Dubai, they can only be thinking of the money.
Nature will not forget and nor will the worlds tourists.
How many HUMANS could bask in the blood-soaked deckchairs, or eat food that should have fed the Palestinian victims of Israeli aggression in Palestine.?
The spokesman on the radio claimed Israel was defending Israel by doing this. Offense or attack is the opposite of defence and occurs in other countries' land.
In fact the whole Israel project is an attack on all Middle Eastern Nations and always has been.
UK and USA is to blame, entirely.
Who are the extremists? who are the Terrorists?
Who uses the media as their own?