The advance of Israeli tanks deep into Rafah / More than 800,000 Palestinians have fled from southern Gaza

According to Euro News, quoted by Reuters, before this military advance, the Israeli army launched one of the most intense bombings and airstrikes on the southern parts of Gaza last night since the war began on October 7.

Israel's attack on Rafah in the southern part of the Gaza strip has also caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee from the shelter of half of the 2.3 million people living in this part of the Palestinian lands.

In parallel with these attacks, the Israeli army has blocked the main routes of access to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza, thus fueling the international community's concerns about the increase in casualties and the spread of famine.

Israel says that in order to destroy the last battalions of Hamas militants and eradicate this organization, despite the opposition of the Western allies, it has no choice but to attack the city of Rafah.

Therefore, since the beginning of this month, the Israeli military has slowly started advancing towards the eastern suburbs of Rafah in southern Gaza.

Residents and militants sheltering in the southern Gaza Strip say that Israeli tanks advanced west from the border with Egypt on Wednesday and are now stationed near a neighborhood in the center of Rafah.

In the meantime, the armed wing of Hamas claimed that it targeted two armored vehicles carrying Israeli forces at a gate located along the border fence with anti-tank rockets.

Palestinian residents say that Israeli attack drones fired at the suburb of Yabna, and during the night, shooting at fishing boats on the Rafah coast caused some of them to catch fire.

“Israeli attacks on the area using drones, helicopters, warplanes and tanks continue every night and have not stopped,” a resident of Rafah told Reuters.

The Israeli army also announced that it had destroyed a number of Hamas fighters during several targeted operations in Khan Yunis, north of Rafah.

Parallel to the attacks in the south and especially the northern and eastern areas of Rafah, the Israeli military has increased the intensity of its operations against the Hamas militants in Jabalia, the largest Palestinian refugee camp on the northern border of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli soldiers have returned to carry out operations in the northern parts of the Gaza Strip, after months ago they announced the disintegration of the main core of the Palestinian militias in this area.

According to UNRWA, the United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, more than 800,000 people have fled Rafah as of last Monday following the start of Israeli attacks on Rafah in early May.

These attacks continue to be followed by the Israeli army, while the international community demands an immediate halt to any military operations in Rafah.

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