ISRAEL has already successfully eliminated several gunmen hiding out in Rafah as they continue their “precise” operations to wipe out the Hamas terror group.
Israeli fighters first stormed into the war zone on Tuesday with the mayor of Rafah already claiming his terror-nest town sits on the “brink of a humanitarian catastrophe” as the city “echoes with cries” of the dead.
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The Israeli military has already found great success as they continue to push through eastern Rafah.
So far, 20 Hamas operatives are thought to have been struck with three “significant” tunnel shafts being located, say the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
The haunting trio of tunnel shafts were discovered by brave Israeli troops as the search for the remaining hostages continues.
Indications suggest the hostages may be being kept in the Hamas-made network of tunnels.
read more in Rafah assault
The IDF are now preparing to “dismantle” the tunnels alongside combat engineers, they announced in a statement.
Troops have also been conducting “targeted raids” on the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing before a full-scale offensive commences inside the city.
The IDF sent out the 401st Armored Brigade for the raids after they received intelligence that Hamas fighters are using the crossing for “terror purposes”.
The streets of the city echo with the cries of innocent lives lost, families torn apart, and homes reduced to rubble
Ahmed Al-Sofi
Before adding it was “eliminating terrorists” and “terrorist infrastructure”, claiming their fighter jets had hit over 100 “terror targets”.
Israeli forces, backed by tanks, seized control of the Rafah crossing into Egypt within hours.
Dramatic footage captured onboard IDF tanks showed them crushing an “I Love Gaza” sign and troops raising Israeli flags at the crossing.
Israel kicked off what it called a “limited” ground offensive into Rafah at the start of the week – despite international objections.
Air strikes have been ongoing since Monday, devastating the crumbling city and leaving the millions still living there terrified.
Rafah’s mayor, Ahmed Al-Sofi, sent out a desperate appeal to the world begging for the assault to halt in its terrifying tracks after just three days of the planned six-week invasion.
He said: “The streets of the city echo with the cries of innocent lives lost, families torn apart, and homes reduced to rubble.
“We stand on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe of unprecedented proportions.”
Before the strikes got underway Israel issued an order for 100,000 people to evacuate part of the city and move into humanitarian camps set up by the IDF.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under intense pressure by his own people and worldwide governments for how he goes about ending the war.
Netanyahu has claimed the assault on Rafah is a must as it will serve Israel’s two goals – the elimination of Hamas and the return of hostages.
Why is Israel invading Rafah?
ISRAELI tanks and forces invaded eastern Rafah on May 7 – despite ongoing ceasefire talks with Hamas.
So why does Israel want to storm the southern Gaza city?
Israel says Rafah is Hamas’s last major stronghold in the Gaza Strip after claiming its military has already dismantled 18 of Hamas’s 24 battalions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “We will enter Rafah because we have no other choice.
“We will destroy the Hamas battalions there, we will complete all the objectives of the war, including the return of all our hostages.”
The country believes Hamas has five battalions in Rafah and that its ground forces must move in to destroy them.
Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, known as ‘Gaza’s Bin Laden’, is also believed to be holed up in tunnels beneath the city.
About 1.4 million Palestinians – more than half of Gaza’s population – have sought refuge in Rafah, having fled from cities, refugee camps, and villages further north.
Israel has said it will evacuate civilians from the city before invading – but the US and aid groups have warned it could be a bloodbath.
Israel’s military claims to have purchased 40,000 tents, each with the capacity for 10 to 12 people, to house Palestinians relocated from the city ahead of the assault.
But many people have rejected air strikes and ground invasions as the best way to operate in Rafah given the Palestinian residents still there.
People have demonstrated outside of Netanyahu’s home in Jerusalem calling for him to accept a ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Many governments have echoed these calls saying the hostages being returned must be the top priority.
As this week, the US axed a planned shipment of 3,500 heavy-duty bombs bound for Israel over fears they would be used to hit Rafah.
Joe Biden and his team have tried all they can to stop a large-scale assault and get a deal in place to save the hostages.
The Biden Administration blocked the shipment as they told CBS News Israel had not “fully addressed” concerns over the humanitarian needs of civilians in Rafah.
At least 1.4million – more than half of Gaza’s population – are believed to be sheltering in the city that borders Egypt after fleeing the fighting from elsewhere in the bomb-blitzed enclave.
The death toll in Gaza has soared to more than 34,500 people, according to Hamas-run health officials.
What is happening with ceasefire negotiations?
ISRAEL on Monday night rejected a ceasefire proposal by Hamas and pushed on with its long-threatened assault into Rafah on Tuesday.
There was a slither of hope on Monday night as senior Hamas officials said they had accepted a ceasefire deal – sparking short-lived but loud celebrations across Gaza.
However, Israel rejected their proposal, saying it fell short of “core demands”.
An Israeli official described Hamas’s announcement as “a ruse intended to make Israel look like the side refusing a deal”.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has offered a 40-day truce and the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the most vulnerable of Israeli hostages to be freed in terms deemed “very generous” by Britain and the US.
But Hamas refused to budge on their stance, stating that any agreement must involve the complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and permanent end to the war.
Israeli leaders have repeatedly rejected that trade-off, vowing to keep up their campaign until Hamas is destroyed.
As hope of a ceasefire hangs on by a thread, Israel sent a delegation to the talks in Cairo on Tuesday to try and reach an agreement.
A senior Hamas official warned this would be Israel’s “last chance” to free the scores of hostages still in the terrorists’ hands.
Washington said it was hopeful the two sides could “close the remaining gaps”.
“Everybody’s coming to the table,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. “That’s not insignificant.”
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel might “deepen” its Gaza operation if negotiations failed to bring the hostages home.
“This operation will continue until we eliminate Hamas in the Rafah area and the entire Gaza Strip, or until the first hostage returns,” he said in a statement.
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