Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed yesterday that they are in the center of Rafah, despite international concern and outrage over the military operation in Gaza’s southernmost city.
The IDF’s statement corroborates what eyewitnesses said earlier this week when tanks were seen in central Rafah for the first time since entering the city earlier this month.
“IDF troops in central Rafah have located Hamas rocket launchers, terrorist tunnels, and weapons. The troops have also dismantled a Hamas weapons storage facility in the area,” the IDF statement said.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military announced that it had established “operational control” over the Philadelphi Corridor, a 14-kilometer buffer zone on the Palestinian side of the Egypt-Gaza border.
Access to mobile phone services in Rafah was cut off on Thursday due to the ongoing Israeli offensive, a Palestinian telecommunications company reported.
The Israeli incursion into Rafah earlier in May marked a new phase in its war against Hamas in Gaza, which has killed over 36.000 Palestinians according to health officials in the enclave, displaced the majority of the strip’s population, and caused a humanitarian disaster that has horrified international agencies.
Over the weekend, Israel launched an airstrike on a displaced persons camp in the city, killing dozens and sparking global outrage.
A video recording obtained by media shows the camp ablaze, with crowds of men, women, and children frantically seeking shelter from the nighttime attack. Burnt bodies, including those of children, could be seen as rescuers pulled them from the wreckage.
Earlier this month, the United States (U.S.) President Joe Biden said in an interview that he would not allow the use of certain U.S. weapons in a major offensive in Rafah, N1 writes.
E.Dz.
