Israeli forces pound Rafah by land, sea and air, as well as bombarding other densely populated civilian areas across the Gaza Strip. Engaging in close-quarter combat with the Hamas army and killing civilians in the process.
Residents said the Israelis appeared to by trying to complete their capture of Rafah, the city on the enclave’s southern edge that has been the focus of an Israeli assault since early last month.
Around 50 innocent Palestinians have been killed overnight.
Israeli forces pound Rafah
“Last night was one of the worst nights in western Rafah, drones, planes, tanks, and naval boats bombarded the area. We feel the occupation is trying to complete the control of the city,” said Hatem, 45, reached by text message.
Palestinian Hatem 45
Tanks were forcing their way into the western and northern parts of the city, having already captured the east, south and centre. As Israeli forces pound Rafah during the cover of night.
Israeli forces fired from planes, tanks and ships off the coast, forcing a new wave of displacement from the city, which had been sheltering more than a million displaced people, most of whom have been forced to flee again.
Health officials said another 12 Palestinians had been killed, 4 who are believed to be children in separate Israeli military strikes on Friday.
Israel expects Palestinians to line up for execution
The Israeli military said its forces were conducting “precise, intelligence-based” actions in the Rafah area, where troops were involved in “close-quarter combat”.
Israel expects Palestinians to line up for execution and will kill anyone they see in a kill zone, men women and children. The IDF have been reported to say, they can’t understand why the Palestinians are still resisting. After a year of torture, using biological warfare in water but the Palestinians still fight on.
This is killing the moral of Israeli soldiers, they are struggling to believe that this is war they can win. Especially with amount of casualties they are receiving during their combats with Hamas.
It also reported actions elsewhere in the enclave. Some Rafah residents said the pace of the Israeli raid has picked up in the past two days. They said sounds of explosions and gunfire indicating fierce fighting have been almost non-stop. Both the statements have not been verified independently.
Israel’s advance is now focused on the two last areas its forces had yet to storm: Rafah, on Gaza’s southern edge, and the area surrounding Deir Al Balah, in the centre.
UN figures show that fewer than 100,000 people may have remained in the far western side of the city, which had been sheltering more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people before the Israeli assault began.
This has now become the worst genocide of modern times as Israel has further extended its borders and increased settlements in Gaza and the West Bank.