The Israeli army takes control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which connects Gaza to Egypt

The army of Israel This Tuesday, it positioned tanks in Rafah and took control of the Palestinian side of the border post with Egypt, in the south of the Gaza Strip, accentuating the “pressure” on Hamas in negotiating a truce proposal accepted by the Palestinian Islamic movement. . The army released images showing tanks with the Israeli flag located in the border area, on the Palestinian side, and stated that it is carrying out an “anti-terrorist” operation in “specific areas” east of Rafah.

The night attacks in the city, where 1.2 million people are crowded according to the UN, left at least 27 people dead, according to two local hospitals.

LOOK: Global alarm over a possible Israeli invasion of Rafah that could lead to the deadliest phase of the war

The day before, the army called for the evacuation of tens of thousands of families from the east Rafawith a view to a major ground offensive that, for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is necessary to eliminate the last Hamas battalions.

The UN reported on Tuesday that the Israeli army banned him from accessing the border crossing Rafamain gateway for humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave, besieged and on the brink of famine.

The army said a unit of armored vehicles “maneuvered in the area. Right now, special forces are inspecting the border crossing.” Rafa. “We have operational control of the area,” she reiterated.

According to the intelligence service, “the Gaza part of the border post (…) was used by Hamas for terrorist purposes,” he added.

At another border post, in the center of the Strip, the armed wing of Hamas reported having fired rockets “at a concentration of Israeli troops” around the crossing, where humanitarian aid also enters. This crossing has been closed since Sunday, after the death of four Israeli soldiers in another attack.

EU ministers expressed concern about the deployment of Israeli tanks in Rafa.

Meetings in Cairo

In parallel to these military operations, new negotiations are planned in Cairo, after Hamas gave the green light to a truce proposal presented by the mediating countries, Egypt and Qatar, to try to end the war, which began seven months ago.

Israel, although it assured that the proposal is “very far from the requirements”, announced the sending of a delegation to Egypt “to exhaust the possibilities of reaching an agreement with acceptable conditions”.

Netanyahu’s cabinet decided “unanimously” to continue “the operation in Rafa exert military pressure on Hamas with the aim of moving towards the release of hostages and the achievement of other war objectives,” he said.

A senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic movement, Jalil al Hayya, told Al Jazeera that the current truce proposal includes three phases, each lasting 42 days.

This would include a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the return of displaced people and an exchange of hostages still held captive in the territory with Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, with the aim of a “permanent ceasefire”.

Until now, Israel has opposed a full withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire without first launching an operation against Rafa to “defeat” Hamas and ensure that an attack like the one on October 7th does not happen again.

That day, Islamic commandos infiltrated southern Israel and killed around 1,170 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data. Among the dead were more than 300 soldiers.

They also kidnapped 250 people, of which 128 remain in the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli army, which estimates that 35 have died in the meantime.

The Israeli response offensive in Gaza left 34,789 dead, mainly civilians, according to the Ministry of Health in this territory governed since 2007 by Hamas.

Take advantage of this opportunity”

Following Hamas’ announcement, an association of families of Israeli hostages demonstrated in Tel Aviv and demanded that the parties involved “turn this opportunity into an agreement” for the return of all captives.

In Rafascenes of joy over the hope of a truce mixed with panic over the evacuation and the threat of an incursion by Israeli troops.

In pamphlets published in the region, the Israeli army asks residents to go “to the humanitarian zone (enabled) in Al Mawasi”, a city located on the coast about ten kilometers from Rafa.

“The inhabitants are evacuating in terror, in panic,” Osama al Kahlut, a local Palestinian Red Crescent official, told AFP, estimating the number of people affected at 250,000.

“My family and I, 13 people, don’t know where to go,” said Abdul Rahman Abu Jazar, a 36-year-old Palestinian.

The Al Mawasi area “does not have enough space for us to pitch our tents,” he said.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.