As Israel’s war against Hamas enters its seventh month, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched targeted strikes on Hamas’s last standing stronghold of Rafah.
“The IDF began a precise counterterrorism operation in the eastern Rafah area; Following intelligence that indicated that the Rafah Crossing in eastern Rafah was being used for terrorist purposes,” the Israeli military said in a press release Tuesday morning. “IDF troops obtained operational control of the Gazan side of the crossing.”
Israeli armed forces have begun destroying terrorist targets in the Hamas stronghold. “IDF ground troops and IAF fighter jets struck and eliminated Hamas terror targets in the Rafah area, including military structures, underground infrastructure, and additional terrorist infrastructure from which Hamas operated in the Rafah area,” the Israeli military disclosed.
Detailing the efforts to minimize civilian casualties during the combat in Rafah, the IDF noted:
Prior to the operation, the IDF encouraged residents in the area of eastern Rafah to temporarily evacuate to the expanded humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi, where the IDF has facilitated the expansion of field hospitals, tents, and an increase in water, food, and medical supplies. International organizations working in the area were also encouraged to temporarily evacuate prior to the beginning of the operation.
Israeli tanks rolled into southern Gaza early morning Tuesday and captured the strategic Rafah border crossing, cutting off the Hamas-controlled stronghold from Egypt. The Rafah-Egypt border is a major route for Hamas to smuggle weapons from Egypt, and move terrorists in and out of Gaza.
“IDF takes over Palestinian side of Rafah crossing,” the Jerusalem Post confirmed. “According to Reuters, citing the spokesperson of the Gaza border authority, the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt had been closed on the Palestinian side due to the IDF tanks in the area.”
The Israeli tanks were accompanied by ground troops. “IDF ground troops are continuing to operate against Hamas terrorist operatives and infrastructure in the area of the Rafah Crossing in eastern Rafah,” the IDF acknowledged in a statement Tuesday.
A clip on Twitter apparently shows an IDF tank rolling towards the crossing:
With Israeli forces finally entering Rafah, Hamas has offered to release 33 hostages out of some 130 initially believed to be in its captivity since October 7, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
Most of these 33 hostages set to be handed over to Israel may just be corpses of captives tortured and murdered by Hamas, the article suggests. According to the newspaper, “It was not clear whether Hamas revealed in the cease-fire negotiations with Israel how many of the 33 who would be freed in the first phase of the proposed deal are still alive and how many are dead.”
The NYT reports:
Hamas informed negotiators on Monday that not all of the 33 hostages who would be freed in the first phase of a possible cease-fire deal with Israel are still living and that the remains of those who have died would be among the initial releases, according to two people familiar with the talks.
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