Israeli forces have seized control of the Rafah border crossing in the Gaza Strip, cutting off a key route for humanitarian aid and potential refuges for civilians from a construction offensive.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had taken “operational control” of the Gaza side of the border post linking the besieged enclave with Egypt. The closure of the crucial passage and the positioning of tanks in the center of Rafah is seen as a demonstration of Israel’s determination to continue the attack on the southern city despite ongoing ceasefire negotiations.
The 401st Brigade entered the Rafah border crossing early Tuesday, the Israeli military said, closing a key route for aid deliveries to Gaza and for any civilians fleeing the fighting in Egypt.
The military claimed the crossing was being “used for terrorist purposes” and claimed that Sunday’s Hamas mortar attack on the Karem Abu Salem crossing, which Israelis call Kerem Shalom and remains closed, was launched from nearby. However, no evidence has been presented so far.
IDF forces managed to gain operational control of the Gaza side of the crossing after it emerged that the Rafah crossing in eastern Rafah was being used for terrorist purposes. This happened after mortar shells were fired from the area of the Rafah border crossing towards the area of…
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 7, 2024
The operation came amid a nighttime attack on eastern parts of the city. Warplanes bombed residential buildings, killing at least twelve people.
The Israeli military said in a statement it struck numerous Hamas targets in eastern Rafah, killing about 20 militants.
A spokesman for the Palestinian Border Crossing Authority confirmed to the Associated Press news agency that Israeli forces had occupied the border crossing and closed it for the time being.
“It was a very difficult night,” Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reported from Rafah. “It was very violent, very bloody and full of destruction.”
The attack came despite Hamas saying on Monday it had agreed to the terms of a ceasefire deal brokered by mediators.
However, under pressure from hardline nationalist coalition partners who have called for a full-scale offensive against Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears willing to go ahead anyway.
Caught
Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Rafah that the Israeli military carried out an incursion on the eastern side of Rafah, which included heavy exchanges of fire with Hamas militants and intense bombardment, with the main aim of taking control of the border crossing .
Israeli control of the border post “is devastating because … Palestinians can no longer leave the area,” he said.
Despite dire warnings from its closest allies that an offensive on the city would risk large numbers of civilian casualties, Israel insists its plans will allow it to evacuate Rafah and continue attacking the Hamas command and fighters there.
“The Rafah offensive has begun again, despite all the calls from the international community, the United States, the European Union member states and all the calls for Netanyahu not to attack,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, told reporters on Tuesday. “I fear that this will once again claim many victims, civilian victims. Whatever they say,” he said, adding: “There are no safe zones in Gaza.”
Israeli forces sparked panic on Monday when they ordered about 1.4 million Palestinians in Rafah – most of whom were displaced under earlier orders from the Israeli military – to evacuate.
The Israeli army reiterated on Tuesday that it had “encouraged” displaced people and international humanitarian organizations operating in eastern Rafah to “temporarily evacuate.”
However, people seeking shelter in Rafah in poor conditions and without shelter, food and medicine have few places to turn.
Closing the border crossing only threatens to worsen these bottlenecks and draw even more people closer to the fighting.
Sources from three humanitarian aid organizations told Reuters news agency that aid deliveries had been halted due to the closure of the border crossing.
The latest Israeli operation is pushing them toward al-Mawasi on the coast, where the military says it has set up field hospitals, tents and medical supplies.
“The Israeli military…is strategically cutting off the Gaza Strip and isolating it from the region,” Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud suggested.
“Given the current Israeli military presence there, we can say with certainty that we are dealing with a very difficult situation when it comes to bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza,” he said.
“At the same time, if we look at the location of the Rafah border crossing, almost in the center of the city, it suggests that we are very close to a full invasion of Rafah.”