Israel’s military said Wednesday it has seized control of the entire length of Gaza’s border with Egypt, without elaborating. Capturing the strategic Philadelphi corridor signals that Israel has deepened its offensive in southern Gaza.
Palestinians in the border city of Rafah reported heavy fighting
Wednesday. Israel previously said it was carrying out limited operations in
eastern Rafah along the Gaza-Egypt border. The United States and other allies
of Israel have warned against a full-fledged offensive in the city, saying it
would cause a humanitarian catastrophe.
Fighting in Rafah has already spurred more than 1 million
Palestinians to flee, most of whom had already been displaced in the war
between Israel and Hamas. They now seek refuge in makeshift tent camps and
other war-ravaged areas, where they lack shelter, food, water and other
essentials for survival, the U.N. says.
Earlier Wednesday, a top Israeli official said the war with Hamas
is likely to last through the end of the year. Israel has vowed to expunge the
militants from the entire Gaza Strip and has done so by a strategy of
systematic destruction, at a huge cost in civilian lives.
Israeli bombardments and ground offensives in Gaza have killed
more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t
distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in
which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly
civilians — and abducted about 250. Israel says around 100 hostages are still
captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.
Currently:
— Israeli strikes kill at least 37 Palestinians, most in tents,
near Gaza’s Rafah.
— Missile attacks damage a ship in the Red Sea off Yemen’s coast,
near previous Houthi rebel assaults.
— A U.S.-built pier will be removed from the Gaza coast and
repaired after damage from rough seas.
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