Israeli forces, supported by tanks and warplanes, intensified their incursion into the western part of Gaza’s Rafah city on Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of eight individuals, as reported by residents and Palestinian medics.
Residents stated that Israeli tanks entered five neighborhoods after midnight, where heavy shelling and gunfire targeted the tents of displaced families in the Al-Mawasi area to the west of the coastal enclave.
Efforts by international mediators, backed by the United States, to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which has been in opposition for 14 years, have proven unsuccessful. The ongoing conflict has seen no sign of abating, with casualties mounting.
In a separate incident, twelve Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit a group of citizens and merchants in southern Gaza. The strike occurred as people awaited aid convoys at the Kerem Shalom crossing in Salahuddin Road northeast of Rafah.
Israeli forces have significantly damaged Gaza and have seized control over most Palestinian territories but have yet to achieve their goal of dismantling Hamas and freeing Israeli hostages.
According to medics and Hamas media, eight Palestinians were killed in Al-Mawasi, prompting many families to flee northward in panic. The victims remain unidentified, and the Israeli military has stated it is investigating the incident.
Residents reported that Israeli forces demolished several homes in western Rafah, previously housing over half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population before the recent ground offensive forced most residents northward. Current estimates suggest fewer than 100,000 people remain in the area.
“A night of terror in Rafah. They unleashed gunfire from planes, drones, and tanks in the western areas to support their invasion,” said a Rafah resident anonymously.
Colonel Liron Batito of the Givati Brigade briefed military correspondents on Tuesday, outlining plans to confront Hamas fighters in the Shaboura and Tel Al-Sultan areas of Rafah. He estimated the operation could take up to a month at its current intensity.
Israeli control over the Rafah-Egypt border remains in place. Social media footage depicted the destruction of the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s primary link to the outside world, with buildings ablaze and Israeli tanks positioned under the Israeli flag.
Meanwhile, Israeli tanks re-entered the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City, encountering heavy fire from tanks and warplanes, alongside reports of gun battles with Hamas-led fighters. In Sheikh Radwan, an Israeli airstrike on a house claimed the lives of four Palestinians, including a child, according to medics, bringing the day’s death toll in Gaza to 20.
Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad’s armed wings reported engaging Israeli forces with anti-tank rockets, mortar bombs, and pre-planted explosive devices in some areas.
Later in the day, Palestinian gunmen fired rockets at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza, the Israeli military confirmed.
Since the conflict began in October, Gaza has suffered extensive damage, with over 37,400 casualties reported by Palestinian health authorities, leaving a large portion of the population displaced and in dire need.
Efforts to secure a ceasefire have repeatedly failed, with Hamas demanding an end to the war and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on dismantling Hamas and securing the release of hostages before any cessation of hostilities.
On Wednesday, the United Nations human rights office accused Israeli forces of potentially violating fundamental principles of the laws of war, alleging failure to distinguish between civilians and combatants in their Gaza operations. Israel’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva dismissed the report as flawed.
The situation continues to escalate, with humanitarian concerns mounting amid the ongoing violence.
