As tanks move farther into Rafah, Israel bombards central Gaza

At least 13 Palestinians were killed on Thursday when Israeli forces attacked Gaza City in the north and the historic refugee camps in the middle of the territory. Additionally, tanks advanced farther into Rafah in the south, according to residents and health officials.

Six individuals were murdered by an Israeli airstrike in the central Gazan town of Zawayda, while two more persons perished in a hit on a house in the Bureij camp. According to health officials, an Israeli airstrike in Deir Al-Balah, a city teeming with displaced Palestinians from other parts of Gaza, killed three people in a car.

Two Palestinians were killed in another airstrike, according to doctors in northern Gaza City.

Two senior Islamic Jihad commanders were killed by Israeli military forces in two airstrikes in Gaza City, according to a statement from the military. One of the commanders was allegedly involved in the incident that took place in southern Israel on October 7 and started the Gaza conflict.

Residents of Rafah reported that Israeli tanks moved farther westward within the city and positioned themselves atop a hilltop. According to the Israeli military, they have found multiple tunnels and taken out multiple gunmen.

According to the Palestinian group Hamas’s armed branch and its allies, Israeli forces in southwest Rafah were targeted by mortar bombs on Thursday.

Since Israel began an offensive in and around the city in May, the majority of the more than a million refugees who had taken refuge in Rafah from violence further north have dispersed once more.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement on Thursday that the violence has forced the 60-bed Red Cross field hospital in Rafah to the verge of capacity.

William Schomburg, head of the ICRC’s subdelegation in Gaza, stated that “the response capacity of our hospital – and all health facilities in southern Gaza – to care for those with life-threatening injuries has been stretched to breaking point by the repeated mass casualty events resulting from the unrelenting hostilities.”

STALLED CEASEFIRE EFFORTS

Even after over nine months of fighting, Hamas-led Palestinian fighters are still able to hit Israeli forces with mortar bombs and anti-tank rockets, and they can periodically launch rocket barrages into Israel.

Following the Oct. 7 attack, in which Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and kidnapped over 250 more, Israeli officials declared they would destroy the terrorist organization. Since then, Israel’s military offensive has killed over 38,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

Israel declared on Tuesday that since the commencement of the war, it had killed or detained over 14,000 combatants and removed half of the Hamas military wing’s leadership. According to Israel, 326 of its soldiers have died in Gaza.

Hamas claimed Israel was exaggerating to present a “fake victory” and refused to disclose the number of casualties within its forces.

The United States-backed diplomatic attempts by Arab mediators to end the hostilities seem to be on hold, even though Israel and Hamas, among other parties, have stated they are open to further discussions.

In exchange for those Palestinians who have been imprisoned by Israel, an agreement would attempt to end the conflict and free Israeli hostages in Gaza.

According to a Palestinian official close to the mediation effort, Hamas was awaiting an Israeli reaction to an offer of a ceasefire that the US had crafted based on concepts declared by President Joe Biden.

The unnamed person stated, “The feeling inside Hamas is that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is stalling and that he might not say anything before he goes to the United States next week.”