CAIRO: Israeli tanks have reached the center of Rafah, Gaza, after three weeks of ground operation that has sparked global condemnation.
Witnesses told Reuters that Israeli tanks were spotted near the central Al-Awda mosque, amid ongoing airstrikes and tank bombardment.
The Israeli military said its forces continued to operate in the Rafah area without commenting on reported advancements in the city center.
The assault, condemned globally, intensified after a deadly attack on a Palestinian refugees’ camp on Monday that left at least 45 Palestinians, many of them children and elderly, dead. Since that strike, as many as 26 more Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in Rafah, Hamas officials said.
Overnight, the city witnessed some of the fiercest Israeli bombardment. Remote-operated armored vehicles are observed, indicating a strategic shift in tactics. Despite calls for restraint, Israel persists in its offensive, disregarding a recent International Court of Justice order.
The humanitarian toll is dire, with over one million fleeing the violence, as reported by UNRWA.
Earlier last week, Spain, Ireland, and Norway had announced to recognition a Palestinian state.
The death toll of the Palestinians in Gaza from more than seven months of relentless bombardments soared to 36,096, reported the health ministry on Tuesday.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, at least 46 Palestinians were martyred over the past 24 hours. At least 81,136 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began on October 7.
On Monday, Israel, despite the United Nations top court order to stop the military operation in Gaza, attacked a Palestinian refugee camp in which 45 people were killed.
Following the attack, the United Nations Security Council has summoned a closed-door emergency meeting for today on the Gaza situation.
