Israeli forces battled Palestinian terrorists in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, striking areas in the centre of the coastal enclave where thousands of Palestinians displaced from their homes have been seeking shelter. Residents in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, said fierce battles raged between Hamas-led fighters and Israeli forces, especially in the centre and in western areas where tanks had advanced in the previous two days.
The armed wings of the Islamic Jihad and Hamas Islamist terror groups said their members confronted Israeli forces with anti-tank rockets and mortars. The Israeli military said its soldiers had killed a group of fighters who were moving towards them, and destroyed ammunition, tunnel shafts and infrastructure in Tel al-Sultan, in the eastern part of the city.
A ceasefire effort led by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the United States has so far failed because of disagreements between the combatants, who blame each other for the impasse.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday ordered a delegation charged with negotiating a hostage deal to be dispatched on Thursday, his office said.
Netanyahu held a meeting on Sunday with the delegation and senior members of Israel’s defence establishment, a statement said, without giving the delegation’s destination.
Israel vowed to eradicate Hamas after its fighters killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostage in an attack on Oct. 7 last year, according to Israeli tallies. At least 38,983 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive since then, Gaza health authorities led by Hamas say. Tensions are high in the region, with concerns remaining over a possible spread of violence.
Israeli jets struck Houthi military targets near Yemen’s Hodeidah port on Saturday, a day after a drone launched by the Iranian-backed group hit Tel Aviv, and separate Israeli strikes targeted a depot storing ammunition belonging to Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, security sources said.
Israel has claimed that it had eliminated half the leadership of Hamas’ military wing and killed or captured nearly 14,000 fighters since the start of the conflict. Israel also says that 326 of its own soldiers have been killed in Gaza.
(With inputs from Reuters)
