Israel sent tanks on raids into Rafah on Wednesday and said its war on Hamas in Gaza would likely continue all year after Washington said the Rafah assault did not amount to a major ground operation that would trigger a change in US policy.
According to foreign media, Israeli tanks moved into the heart of Rafah for the first time on Tuesday, despite an order from the International Court of Justice to end its attacks on the city, where many Palestinians had taken refuge from widespread bombardment.
Rafah residents said the tanks had pushed into Tel Al-Sultan in western Rafah and Yibna and near Shaboura in the center before retreating towards a buffer zone on the border with Egypt, rather than staying put as elsewhere.
"We received distress calls from residents in Tel Al-Sultan where drones targeted displaced citizens as they moved from areas where they were staying toward the safe areas," the deputy director of ambulance and emergency services in Rafah, Haitham al Hams, said.
Israel said its military-controlled three-quarters of the buffer zone on the Egyptian border and aimed to control all of it to prevent Hamas smuggling in weapons. Palestinian Health Minister Majed Abu Ramadan said there was no indication the Rafah border crossing would be reopened for aid any time soon.
Fighting in Gaza would continue throughout 2024 at least, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi added, signaling that Israel was not ready to end the war as demanded by Hamas, as part of a deal that would see the exchange of hostages is holds for Palestinian prisoners.
"The fighting in Rafah is not a pointless war," he said, reiterating that the aim was to end Hamas rule in Gaza and stop it and its allies attacking Israel.
The United States, Israel's closest ally, reiterated its opposition to a major Israeli ground offensive in Rafah on Tuesday while saying it did not believe such an operation was underway.
Mediator Qatar was expected to pass on Israel's latest ceasefire and hostage release proposal to Hamas on Tuesday, a person familiar with the issue said. There was no immediate word on Wednesday from Hamas, which has said talks are pointless unless Israel ends its offensive on Rafah.
The armed wing of Hamas and that of allies Islamic Jihad said they confronted invading forces in Rafah with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs and blew up explosive devices they had planted.
Three Israeli soldiers were killed and three others were badly wounded, the military said, by what public broadcaster Kan radio said was an explosive device set off in a Rafah building.
Palestinian health officials said several people were wounded by Israeli fire in eastern Rafah and stores of aid were set ablaze. Residents said constant Israeli bombardment overnight destroyed many homes in the area, from where most people have fled after orders by Israel to evacuate.
Internet and mobile signals went down in parts of both east and west as Israel attacked, the pro-Hamas Shehab news agency, residents and other journalists said. The Israeli military said it could not confirm the reports.
Some residents reported seeing what they described as unmanned robotic armored vehicles opening fire from machine guns in parts of the city.
