Israel advanced deeper into Rafah and fought a regrouping Hamas in northern Gaza

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces advanced deeper into the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday and clashed with Hamas in what the military said were devastated northern areas. It was cleaned out months ago but where the warriors had assembled.

Warnings continue against the growing offensive in Rafah, considered the last refuge in Gaza for more than a million civilians as well as the last stronghold of Hamas. About 300,000 people have fled Rafah following an evacuation order from Israel, which said they must invade to destroy Hamas and return dozens of hostages taken in the October 7 attack on Israel that sparked for the war.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated opposition to a major military strike on Rafah, telling CBS that Israel would be “pocketed in a long-term insurgency” without an exit from Gaza and a plan post-war governance plan.

Rafah’s expansion has drawn warnings from neighboring Egypt, whose Foreign Ministry has said it intends to formally join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice. accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, which Israel denies. The statement cited “the increasing severity and scale of Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians.”

“A full-scale attack on Rafah cannot take place,” UN human rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement, adding that he could not understand how it could be tolerated. compatible with international humanitarian law.

Gaza has been left without a functioning government, leading to a breakdown of public order and allowing Hamas’s armed wing to reinvigorate itself even in the worst-affected areas. Israel has yet to release a detailed plan for post-war management of Gaza, saying only that it will Maintain open-ended security controls on the coastal enclave is home to about 2.3 million Palestinians.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in one anniversary speech vowing to continue fighting until victory in memory of those killed in war.

Netanyahu has rejected post-war plans proposed by the United States for the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to administer Gaza with support from Arab and Muslim countries. . Those plans depends on the process of establishing a Palestinian state, which the Netanyahu government opposes.

The October 7 the attack killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 250 hostage. The militants still hold about 100 captives and more than 30 others. Internationally mediated negotiations on a ceasefire and the release of hostages appear to be at a deadlock.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel’s air, land and sea attacks have killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. Israel said it killed more than 13,000 militants without providing evidence.

Palestinians said Israel bombed heavily overnight on the refugee camp in the city of Jabaliya and other areas in northern Gaza, which has suffered widespread destruction and has been largely isolated by Israeli forces for months. . UN officials say there is one “total famine” there.

Residents said Israeli warplanes and artillery struck across the camp and the Zeitoun area east of Gaza City, where the army has been fighting rebels for more than a week. They have called on tens of thousands of people to relocate to neighboring areas.

“It was a very difficult night,” said Abdel-Kareem Radwan, 48, from Jabaliya. He said they could hear intense and continuous bombing since midday Saturday. “This is madness.”

Palestinian Civil Defense first responders said they were unable to respond to multiple calls for help from both areas, as well as from Rafah.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israel’s top military spokesman, said forces were also operating in Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun. Two towns near Gaza’s northern border with Israel were heavily bombed in the early days of the war.

“The Hamas regime cannot be overthrown without preparing an alternative to it,” journalist Ben Caspit wrote in the Israeli daily Maariv. the growing frustration of many Israelis more than seven months after the war. “The only people who can rule Gaza after the war are the people of Gaza, with a lot of support and help from outside.”

Israel has now evacuated the eastern third of Rafah and Hagari said dozens of militants had been killed there as “targeted operations continue”. The United Nations has warned that a planned full-scale invasion of Rafah would further paralyzing humanitarian activities and caused an increase in civilian deaths.

Rafah borders Egypt near key aid receiving points, which have already been affected. The Israeli army does captured the Gaza side about the Rafah flyover, forcing it to close. State television channel Al Qahera News reported that Egypt had refused to coordinate with Israel in providing aid across the border because of “Israel’s unacceptable escalation”.

A senior Egyptian official told the Associated Press that Cairo had sent a note of protest to Israel, the United States and European governments, saying the attack had seriously affected their health. decades-long peace treaty with Israel – the foundation of regional stability – is at high risk. The official was not authorized to brief the media and spoke on condition of anonymity.

US President Joe Biden said he will not provide offensive weapons to Israel for Rafah. On Friday, his administration said it was “reasonable” Evidence shows that Israel has violated international law protecting civilians – Washington’s strongest statement on this issue.

Israel denies those accusations, saying it tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames Hamas for the high death toll as militants fight in densely populated areas. But the military rarely comments on individual attacks that often kill women and children.