Israeli tanks have entered Rafah and captured the Palestinian side of the city’s border crossing, which connects to Egypt, several media outlets reported, which have also reported heavy airstrikes on the city, and some media reports have reported. described as a “carpet bombing”, although the scale of the destruction and death toll is unclear at this time.
Carpet bombing, also called area bombing or saturation bombing, consists of the tactical bombing of an area, using large numbers of free-fall bombs, often combined with incendiary bombs.
The Israeli army announced it had taken control of the Rafah crossing, while fresh attacks targeted the southern Gaza city, killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians, said Palestine Chronicle, which updates figures of Palestinians killed in the current genocide: 34,789 and 78,204 injured.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the United States has decided to postpone sending precision weapons to Israel.
An Egyptian official told The Associated Press that the Israeli operation could be limited and that Israeli forces could withdraw soon, antiwar.com noted, but Egypt is also preparing for the possibility of a large influx of Palestinian refugees entering its territory. .
According to Middle East Eye, Cairo estimates that between 50,000 and 250,000 Palestinians could flee to the Sinai, and a source told Axios that Israel plans to take control of the Rafah border crossing and monitor all aid entering Gaza, a sign that he is seeking long-term control of the area.
The Wafa news agency and Egyptian media said Israeli military vehicles advanced towards the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, as well as towards the Karam Abu Salem crossing with Israel.
Military activity near the Rafah crossing will further disrupt aid shipments to the Strip as Palestinians in northern Gaza face “full-blown famine,” according to the UN World Food Programme.
Israel’s move on Rafah comes after Hamas said it accepted a proposal from Egypt and Qatar for a ceasefire. Israeli officials quickly rejected the idea that there was a deal, saying the proposal included terms that Israel did not agree to. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the proposal did not meet his “fundamental demands” and stated that Israel would press ahead with military operations in Rafah.
That office added that “the War Cabinet unanimously decided (on Monday) that Israel will continue its operation in Rafah, in order to exert military pressure on Hamas to advance the release of our hostages and achieve the other objectives of the war.” . Early on Monday, Israel said it had ordered the evacuation of about 100,000 Palestinians from eastern Rafah and warned that “extreme force” would be used in the area.
There are an estimated 1.4 million Palestinian civilians living in Rafah, most of whom are displaced, as before the war the city only had a population of about 275,000.
Israel suggested that Palestinians go to Al-Mawasi refugee camp on the coast, but the Norwegian Refugee Council said the camp did not have the resources to accept evacuees. Oxfam America pointed to the fact that Israel has bombed so-called “safe zones” in Gaza for the past seven months.
US officials have said they oppose Israel invading Rafah without a clear plan to protect civilians. But there are no signs that the Biden administration is putting real pressure on Netanyahu as US arms shipments to Israel have continued.
Nine US senators, including Senator Peter Welch, have called on the Biden administration to systematically apply the Leahy Act to Israel as it does to other recipients of US military assistance. The Leahy Law prohibits foreign military aid assistance to abusers.
In a letter dated April 30 and addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the senators said: “The Leahy Act requires all countries to meet the same standard, but it appears that the [ejército israelí]the largest recipient of US military assistance may be held to a different standard,” Al Jazeera quoted.
