Israeli forces deepened their incursion into two northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip on Friday, and Palestinian health officials said tank shelling in Rafah killed at least 11 people.
Local and Hamas media reported that tanks advanced further west into Rafah’s Shakoush neighborhood, forcing thousands of displaced people in that city to leave their tent camps and head north toward nearby Khan Younis.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Since May 7, tanks have advanced into several neighborhoods of Rafah, and forces continue to control the entire border line with Egypt and the Rafah crossing, the only entry point for most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to the outside world.
One resident, who spoke to Reuters via a chat app, said some bulldozers in the Shakoush area were piling up sand for Israeli tanks that could stand behind it.
“Some families live in the area of the raid and are now under siege by the occupying forces,” he told Reuters.
“The situation there is very dangerous and many families are leaving for Khan Younis, even from the Mawasi area, because the situation has become unsafe for them,” said the man, who moved to the north during the night, AA writes.
