Israel vows to broaden Rafah sweep amid heavy fighting in parts of Gaza
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Smoke billowing from the site of an Israeli bombardment in eastern Rafah in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
PHOTO: AFP
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JERUSALEM – Israel made a new push in central Gaza on May 20, bombarding towns in the north, and said it intends to broaden its military operation in Rafah despite American warnings of the risk of mass casualties in the southern city.
Gaza medics said at least 23 people have been killed in the latest fighting.
Israeli tanks carried out a limited incursion into areas of Wadi Al-Salqa and Al-Karara near Deir Al-Balah, a central Gazan city that Israeli forces have not entered during more than seven months of fighting.
Battles raged as US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was in Israel for talks. He called on the Israeli military to go after the Palestinian militant group Hamas in a targeted way, not with a full-scale assault on Rafah.
However, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant signalled there would be no let-up in its operation, intended to clear Rafah of Hamas militants and rescue hostages seized in the Hamas-led raid on Israel on Oct 7
“We are committed to broadening the ground operation in Rafah to the end of dismantling Hamas and recovering the hostages,” a statement from Mr Gallant’s office quoted him as telling Mr Sullivan.
Israel describes Rafah, which abuts Gaza’s border with the Egyptian Sinai, as the last stronghold of Hamas.
Israel’s allies in the West are concerned over the hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians sheltering there, despite Israeli assurances about humanitarian safeguards.
The statement from Mr Gallant’s office said he “presented to… Sullivan the provisions Israel implemented for evacuating the population from the Rafah area and for setting up the appropriate humanitarian response”.
On May 6, Israel ordered Palestinian civilians to evacuate parts of the city
Israel believes dozens of hostages are being held in Rafah.
Aid is stuck
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said on May 20 that more than 810,000 people have fled Rafah
At least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in Gaza, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.
Aid agencies have warned of widespread hunger and dire shortages of fuel and medical supplies.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on May 20 that the cessation of aid deliveries through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza Strip is connected to the threat posed to humanitarian work by Israel’s military operation in the area.
“Now there is a military presence on the outskirts of the Rafah crossing, and military operations that put aid convoys and truck drivers in danger,” Mr Shoukry told reporters.
“The procedures resulting from Israeli military operations affect the operation of the Rafah crossing,” he said.
Activity has ceased at the Rafah crossing, which is positioned on Egypt’s 13km border with Gaza, since Israel stepped up its military offensive and took operational control of it from the Gazan side on May 7.
International aid deliveries have been stuck on the Egyptian side of the border, leading to worries that some of the food supplies will perish.
Battles in Jabalia
Some 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage in the Oct 7 rampage, according to Israeli tallies. About 125 people are believed to remain in captivity in Gaza.
Israel’s military says more than 280 soldiers have been killed in fighting since the first ground incursions in Gaza on Oct 20.
Fighting in recent days has been heavy in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza’s eight historic refugee camps.
Battles are under way in the heart of the camp and in narrow alleys that Israeli forces have not previously entered.
The armed wings of Hamas and the allied group Islamic Jihad said their fighters fired anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs at Israeli forces operating across Gaza, including in Rafah.
Hamas’ armed wing said gun battles were taking place in suburbs in eastern Rafah where videos circulating on social media, but not verified by Reuters, showed tanks outside some building in what would be new gains for the Israeli forces.
Talks mediated by Egypt and Qatar have failed to secure an end to the war.
Qatar’s Minister of State at the Foreign Ministry Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi said on May 20 he saw no political will to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza while military operations continued on the ground.
Israel says it wants to reach a deal allowing for an exchange of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinians held in Israel, but has not committed to ending its offensive in Gaza.
Hamas, which has been running Gaza since 2007, says Israel must commit to ending the war and rejects any post-war settlement that excludes the group.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under growing pressure from within his own war Cabinet to commit to an agreed vision for Gaza that would include stipulating who might rule the enclave after the conflict ends.
According to a poll aired on Israel’s Channel 13 TV on May 19, 41 per cent of Israelis believe the Rafah operation will bring what Mr Netanyahu has described as “total victory” closer, while 46 per cent do not believe that. REUTERS
