An Israeli army battle tank operating in Rafah
Israeli tanks rolled into the center of Rafah on Tuesday, according to Palestinian reports.
Eyewitnesses told Reuters that Israel Defense Forces tanks were seen near the Al-Awda mosque.
There was no immediate confirmation from
Israeli military, which said that it would issue a statement on the
Rafah operation later in the day.
The development comes three weeks after
Israel launched its ground offensive in the last Hamas bastion in
southernmost Gaza, which began in eastern Rafah but has since expanded to other areas.
According to Palestinian reports, IDF
infantry was also advancing in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of
northwestern Rafah, with tanks positioned there, marking the first
ground operation in that part of the city.
Tel Sultan is where one of the four Hamas
battalions in Rafah is located, with the others being in Yabna (south),
Shaboura (north) and east Rafah, all areas where the IDF has been active
in recent weeks.
The IDF spokesperson said on Tuesday that
the Bislamach Brigade under Division 162 joined the fighting in Rafah.
Three other brigades are already active in the area, with troops
operating along the Philadelphi Corridor,
an Israeli codename for a 8.7-mile long border area between Gaza and
Egypt. The soldiers are conducting targeted operations against terrorist
elements and infrastructure there.
According to the IDF, troops from the
Nahal Brigade’s combat team located tunnel shafts, seized weapons and
killed many terror operatives in the Rafah area in recent days.
Last week, Nahal Brigade soldiers found a
large weapons cache and a lathe for the production of rockets and
grenades, as well as explosive vests, a rocket-launch complex, platforms
for making rockets and more.
Troops are also active elsewhere in Gaza,
according to the IDF, including in Jabalia in the north, where dozens of
terror sites were destroyed, including observation posts, weapons
depots and a building used by Hamas.
Several terrorists were also killed by IDF
troops over the past day in Jabalia, including a mortar-launching cell
that was hit by a fighter jet.
In central Gaza, the IDF said that it
expanded operations in the Netzarim Corridor, killing terrorists and
conducting targeted raids.
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