Israel has taken control of parts of Rafah – NRK Urix – Foreign news and documentaries

The Israeli defense force, the IDF, says that its forces took control of the area on Tuesday night.

The crossing is now closed due to Israeli armored vehicles in the area, according to spokespersons from the border authorities in Gaza. Reuters reports.

The military operation is ongoing in eastern parts of Rafah. 20 members of Hamas are said to have been killed, and several tunnels destroyed. The IDF wrote it on Telegram.

The forces now have full control over the Palestinian side of the crossing.

Israel must have informed that they will withdraw after the operation, which will be limited in scope, AP reports.

The Rafah crossing is now closed because Israeli armored vehicles are still there.

The IDF has also closed the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel, Egypt and Rafah. Last Monday evening, Netanyahu promised US Prime Minister Joe Biden that Israel would keep the transition open for humanitarian aid.

Both Egyptian and Palestinian officials told the Associated Press (AP) on Tuesday night that the tanks entered the city in the south of the Gaza Strip, and that they were closest to 200 meters from the Egyptian border.

Rafah lies in the very south of the Gaza Strip and borders the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.

Earlier on Monday, Palestinians in Rafah were asked to go to so-called humanitarian areas in anticipation of the long-announced Israeli ground invasion, and Israel says that “targeted attacks” have been carried out against Hamas targets in Rafah.

Heavy attacks against Rafah last night

The AFP news agency reports that there have been heavy attacks against Rafah on the night of Tuesday.

Israel has bombed the city both from the air and from the ground.

The Kuwaiti hospital in Rafah reports that they have admitted at least eleven dead and several dozen injured after Israeli attacks.

Pressing on in the negotiations

On Sunday, the negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip broke down. On Tuesday, they were scheduled to start up again.

On Monday evening it was known that Hamas had accepted a proposal for a ceasefire from Egypt and Qatar. The news was celebrated in Rafah, where people feared an Israeli ground invasion.

However, the joy was short-lived as Israel rejected the proposal.

An Israeli source was quick to say that the proposal looked like an attempt to make it look like Israel is the party that refuses to agree to an agreement.

Now the negotiations continued. So does the attack.

On Tuesday, Qatar sends a delegation to the Egyptian capital, Cairo. Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu also says that they will send an Israeli delegation.

He has said several times, most recently last night, that he will go ahead with the plans for a ground invasion of Rafah regardless of the negotiations. Hamas’s acceptance of the ceasefire proposal does not change this.

Now the negotiations continued. So does the attack.

Have ordered evacuation

Israel ordered the evacuation of 100,000 residents in Rafah on Monday morning. This involved dropping leaflets, calling and sending messages to those who stayed in the eastern districts of the city, with clear instructions to leave the area.

They have been told to flee to what Israel calls an extended humanitarian area. It is located in Khan Younis, which is the largest city in the south of the Gaza Strip. The same city was attacked from the air and on the ground in December and January after civilians in northern Gaza had been told to evacuate there.