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Israel claimed that it seized control over the area around Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip according to a statement made by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday.
“The [Hamas] Rafah brigade has been defeated, and over 150 tunnels have been destroyed in the region,” Gallant said. He had instructed the troops to concentrate on destroying the remaining tunnels on the border between the coastal strip and Egypt in the coming period.
Ignoring global outrage amid the humanitarian catastrophe in Rafah, Israel moved on with its violent offensive in May. An estimated 1 million Palestinian refugees had crowded into the city, but have since been forced to leave.
The Israeli troops also captured the Rafah border crossing to Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor. This 14-kilometers-long area is considered one of the biggest points of contention in the negotiations for a Gaza cease-fire.
Following the conclusion of the Doha cease-fire talks on Friday, Hamas said the newly announced “proposal meets Netanyahu’s conditions and aligns with them, particularly his refusal of a permanent cease-fire, (of) a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and his insistence on continuing the occupation of the Netzarim Junction, the Rafah crossing, and the Philadelphi Corridor,” Hamas said in a statement.
The Palestinian group was referring to two strips of land in Gaza, one of which was recently built by Israel and separates the coastal territory into a northern and southern section. The latter Philadelphi Corridor follows the Gaza-Egypt border. The Rafah border crossing sits along the Philadelphi Corridor.
Hamas has long insisted on the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the permanent end to the war as part of any cease-fire deal. But Netanyahu has dismissed the conditions, maintaining his troops will remain in Gaza for as long as he deems necessary.
“He (Netanyahu) also set new conditions in the hostage swap file and retracted from other terms, which obstructs the completion of the deal,” Hamas added.
The group reiterated its commitment to what it agreed on in July based on a plan for a cease-fire that Biden publicly laid out in May, and which the U.N. Security Council resolution endorsed in June.
For months, the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. However, mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’s demands to stop the war.
Israel has continued its sweeping offensive across the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, despite a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
The conflict has resulted in over 40,170 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and more than 92,740 injuries, according to local health authorities.
The ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.
Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.
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