Three days into a floor operation in the southern Gaza town that has sparked international condemnation, Israeli tanks made their first appearance on Tuesday in the center of Rafah, according to witnesses.
The vehicles were spotted near Al- Awda mosque, a northern Rafah location, the testimony told Reuters. Without commenting on rumored progress into the city center, the Israeli army said its troops continued to operate in the Rafah place.
Overnight, its troops pounded the area with attacks and cylinder fire, residents said, pressing its offensive despite an international protest over an attack on Sunday that sparked a flame in a tent station, killing at least 45 Palestinians, more than half of them children, women and the elderly.
At least 26 more people have died as a result of Jewish blaze in Rafah since that strike, according to Hamas militants-run officials in the area.
In one of the worst times of assault reported by residents, Israeli tanks moved towards northern neighborhoods and took positions on the Zurub hill in northern Rafah. Testimony reported gunbattles between Israeli forces and Hamas-led soldiers in the Zurub region on Tuesday.
Testimony in Rafah claimed that the Israeli army appeared to possess brought in remote-controlled armored vehicles and that there was no immediate signal of workers in or around them. A military spokesman for Israel had no immediate reply.
Vehicles had probed around the sides of Rafah and entered some of its northeast regions but had not yet entered the city in entire army since Israel launched its invasion by taking control of the frontier cross with Egypt three weeks ago.
World leaders demanded the application of a World Court order to halt Israel’s abuse in a tent where people displaced from attack abroad in Gaza had sought shelter after reacting to Sunday night’s harm.
Residents said the Tel Al- Sultan area, the scene of Sunday’s deadly strike, was still being heavily bombarded.
In Tel Al-Sulam, tank shells are “falling everywhere.” One resident told Reuters via a chat app that “many families have fled their homes in western Rafah have been under fire throughout the night.”
According to UNRWA, about one million people have fled the Israeli offensive in Rafah since early May.
Israel has continued its attacks despite a ruling from the highest UN court on Friday, arguing that the ruling gives it some room for military action there.
Israel, which has been increasingly isolated in Gaza for more than seven months, will officially recognize a Palestinian state on Tuesday, despite an enraged response from Spain, Ireland, and Norway.
The three countries have used their decision to amplify efforts to bring a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
More than 36, 000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, Gaza’s health ministry says. Israel launched the operation after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli communities on October 7, injuring around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli records.
Israel claims it wants to free hostages held there by Hamas fighters who are imprisoned in Rafah and to appoint someone to take them out.
