The Israeli army expanded this Sunday its land offensive with tanks to new areas of the Rafah area, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, specifically in such the Sultan, located next to the border with Egypt, and urged to evacuate that area immediately.
The Israeli army Arab spokesman, Avichay Adraee, warned in a message to the residents of the area that Israel’s troops “have launched an attack against terrorist organizations” in such a Sultan and therefore “is considered a dangerous combat zone.”
It urges its residents to move to the Mawasi area, considered “Humanitarian Zone”, on Gusta Tayif Street, a route that the army qualifies as a “humanitarian route”, and adds that circulation with vehicles is prohibited.
He warns that “remain in shelters, tents and houses, or travel through other un specified roads”, puts at risk the lives of those who are in the Sultan.
A face -to -face witness told Efe this Sunday that Israeli tanks have taken control of Abu Ataya hill, in Rafah, and fired intensely, while dozens of people are moving from the area under fire.
The Red Crescent also reported that the Israeli forces blocked several of their ambulances while attending an attack in the Hashashin area in Rafah.
“Several paramedics of the association were injured and contact with the crew was lost, which has been trapped for several hours,” says the organization.
Last Thursday, two days after breaking the fire with Hamas and starting a campaign of attacks in Gaza that have left hundreds of deaths, the Israeli army announced that it had expanded its land offensive Rafah, which in May last year was the scene of one of Israel’s toughest offensives against the Palestinian enclave.
Rafah became the last shelter for almost two million Palestinians who were necessarily displaced from the north and center of the strip, with the beginning of the Israeli offensive in the enclave after Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023.
The arrival of the troops in May of last year to this border city with Egypt forced those who survived the nearby “humanitarian zone” Mawasi that was already crowded with displaced people moving in tents.
Also by then, Israel occupied the strategic corridor of Philadelphia, the dividing line of Gaza with Egypt, and whose withdrawal was contemplated in phase two of the truce agreement that Israel blocked after the end of the first phase, on March 1.
After breaking the fire in the early hours of Tuesday with a series of bombing, the Israeli troops on Wednesday began a land offensive at several points close to the border with Gaza, which have already displaced more than 125,000 people, according to the UN Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
