In a statement, the Armed Forces detailed that the 401st armored brigade controls that pass while the Givati brigade is in charge of patrolling the nearby Salah el-Din highway after a limited offensive carried out last night.
In parallel, he explained, the aircraft launched more than 50 bombing raids against various sites in Rafah, where 1.5 of the 2.3 million inhabitants of the coastal enclave are sheltered.
This Tuesday, Israeli television stations showed the national flag raised at the Rafah crossing and the presence of at least one tank there.
In the last few hours, the United Nations, numerous countries and non-governmental organizations criticized a possible offensive against the city due to fear of a massacre of large proportions.
“The laws of war are clear and must be respected. It is difficult to imagine that this attack could be launched against a people who are already exhausted, hungry and without a clear path to safety,” said Hiba Tibi, CARE’s national director for the West Bank and Gaza.
“We are horrified by Israel’s order to evacuate some 100,000 people and what appears to be an imminent invasion of Rafah, despite a call from world leaders to stop the continued barbaric attack,” agreed Sally Abi-Khalil, Oxfam regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Yesterday, Israel ordered the evacuation of some 100,000 Palestinians who live or are displaced in the eastern area of the town and then attacked the crossing, where almost all humanitarian aid enters the territory.
Shortly after, the War Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, announced the continuation of operations around the city, despite the willingness of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to accept a ceasefire.
The Israeli news portal Walla estimated that the objective of taking over the border crossing is to intensify pressure on Hamas by further controlling the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which is experiencing an unprecedented crisis.
The city and the pass border Egypt, whose government fears an avalanche of hundreds of thousands of refugees.
Indeed, the Cairo authorities repeatedly warned that the entry of the military there would jeopardize the peace treaty signed between both countries in 1979.
More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed and 77,000 injured by Israeli attacks on the territory since the outbreak of the current cycle of violence on October 7.
lam/rob
