"Wear down Hamas"

Israel’s military sends more soldiers to Rafah

Israeli armed forces

(Bild: AFP)

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has announced that he will send more armed forces to the Rafah area in the Gaza Strip (see video above). They are to step up ground operations there and destroy Hamas tunnels.

"These activities will intensify - Hamas is not an organization that can reorganize itself, it has no reserve forces, it has no supply reserves and it is not able to deal with the terrorists that we are targeting. The result is that we are wearing Hamas down," said Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Some of the terrorist organization's tunnels have already been destroyed.

EU: relations strained
The European Union (EU) called on Israel's government on Wednesday to end the military operation in Rafah "immediately". Otherwise, relations with the EU would be severely strained. Israel's most important ally, the US government, is also critical of the offensive in the south, as there are many displaced Palestinians living there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are nevertheless sticking to their war plans.

Israeli soldiers

(Bild: AFP)

Provisional port ready
According to the UN, around 600,000 people have already fled Rafah again. Ten days ago, Israel's military advanced from the east into the city in the south of the Gaza Strip. Since then, the army has also controlled the Palestinian part of the border crossing to Egypt. It has since been closed to humanitarian aid. The Israeli and Egyptian governments blame each other for this.

Around 2.2 million people live in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the US military has completed a provisional port through which relief supplies can be delivered. The first supplies are to be distributed in the next few days with the help of the United Nations.

Three dead in the West Bank
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have shot dead three Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. According to Palestinian reports, several people were also injured. The death of a young man who had been at a checkpoint had already been reported earlier.

Since the beginning of the war last October, violence has also increased in the West Bank, which has been occupied since 1967. At least 502 Palestinians have been murdered by the Israeli army or settlers since then. In the same period, at least 20 Israelis were killed in the West Bank.