Israel launches an assault across Gaza by sending tanks into Rafah

Israeli tanks entered Rafah despite the World Court’s orders for a second day. The United States claimed that this was not a large-scale ground operation, even though they had warned Israel not to do it.

Israel moved its tanks into Rafah on Tuesday, even though they were told to stop attacking the city by the International Court of Justice. Many Palestinians were hiding in the city to escape the bombing.

The United States, which is very close to Israel, said again that they don’t support a big Israeli attack in Rafah. But they also said they don’t think that kind of attack is happening right now.

Rafah people said that Israeli tanks went into Tel Al-Sultan, Yibna, and near Shaboura but then went back to a safe area near the border with Egypt. This is different from attacks happening in other places.

Israel’s army controlled most of the buffer zone and wants to control it all to stop Hamas from bringing in weapons, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi.

He thought there would be more fighting in Gaza in 2024. Israel does not want to stop fighting or release prisoners.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters used weapons to fight against the invading forces. They used anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs and detonated explosive devices.

The Israeli army said three soldiers died and three others were seriously hurt in a battle in southern Gaza. They did not give any more details. Israel’s Kan radio said they were harmed by a bomb that exploded in a building in Rafah.

Health officials in the Palestinian territories said that some people were hurt by Israeli shooting in the eastern part of Rafah and supplies of aid were burned. People who live here said that Israel bombed the area a lot last night and many homes were destroyed. Most people have left because Israel told them to go.

Some people saw robotic tanks shooting guns in the city.

The internet and cell phone service went out in some parts of the east and west due to heavy bombing from Israel. This information was reported by the pro-Hamas Shehab news agency, residents, and other journalists. The Israeli military said they were not sure if the reports were true.

In the northern part of Gaza, tanks fired at some neighborhoods in Gaza City. The military also went further into Jabalia, which is the largest and oldest refugee camp in Gaza. People living there said that many homes were destroyed.

Health care is needed right away: government department.

Gaza’s health ministry said that some hospitals in areas where the army is working have stopped working. Ashraf Al-Qidra, who speaks for the group, asked for safe ways for fuel, medical supplies, and medical teams to get to Rafah and northern Gaza right away.

Qidra said that the Israeli occupation purposely destroyed the healthcare facilities in Rafah and the north and did not provide help for injured people.

About one million Palestinians who were staying in Rafah at the bottom of the Gaza Strip to hide from Israel’s attacks have now left because Israel told them to. This was reported by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA on Tuesday.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has moved its medical teams from the hospital in Al-Mawasi because there are a lot of bombs and artillery in that area.

The World Court said on Friday that Israel did not say how it would keep the people from Rafah safe or give them food, water, and medicine. Israel’s leader said the order allowed the military to take action against Hamas fighters in that area.

In the city of Khan Younis, an Israeli air strike killed three people last night. One of them was Salama Baraka, who used to be a high-ranking police officer in Hamas. Doctors and Hamas media reported this.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said that one of its workers, Issam Aqel, was killed when an Israeli air strike hit his house in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. This brings the total number of staff killed since October 7 to 30, with at least 17 of them being killed while working.

Israel gave their new plan for stopping fighting and releasing hostages to Qatar, and Qatar was supposed to give it to Hamas on Tuesday, according to someone who knows about the situation. Hamas has not said anything yet on Wednesday. They said that there is no point in talking unless Israel stops its attack on Rafah.

More than 36,000 Palestinians have died in Israel’s attacks on Gaza, according to the health ministry in the area.

Israel started a war after militants from Hamas attacked communities in southern Israel on Oct 7. About 1,200 people were killed and over 250 hostages were taken, according to Israeli reports.

Many people in Gaza don’t have enough food because not enough aid is getting through. Aid agencies say Israel is stopping them from delivering food, but Israel says the agencies are to blame.

The aid pier built by the US military off Gaza’s coast broke because of bad weather, so it can’t be used for a while. This is another setback for aid efforts in the area. Two US officials reported this on Tuesday.