The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday that it had taken “operational control” of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing. Wael Abu Omar, a Gaza border official, said travel and the flow of aid into the Strip have “stopped completely” as a result. Hamas earlier said it agreed to a Qatari-Egyptian cease-fire proposal and Israel said it would send meditators to negotiate in Egypt, renewing hopes for a pause in fighting even as the Israeli Defense Forces said it struck more than 50 targets in Rafah.
On Monday, the Israeli military ordered about 100,000 civilians in parts of Rafah to evacuate “immediately” to a humanitarian zone, which IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari described as part of “preparation for ground operations in the area.”
In a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Biden reiterated his opposition to a ground invasion of Rafah and provided an update on negotiations in Doha, Qatar, according to a White House readout of the conversation.
U.N. Secretary General António Guterres urged Israel and Hamas to reach a cease-fire deal, calling it “an opportunity that cannot be missed.” A ground invasion in Rafah “would be intolerable because of its devastating humanitarian consequences,” he said.
At least 34,735 people have been killed and 78,108 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children.
Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 267 soldiers have been killed since the launch of its military operation in Gaza.
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On Monday, the Israeli military ordered about 100,000 civilians in parts of Rafah to evacuate “immediately” to a humanitarian zone, which IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari described as part of “preparation for ground operations in the area.”
In a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Biden reiterated his opposition to a ground invasion of Rafah and provided an update on negotiations in Doha, Qatar, according to a White House readout of the conversation.
U.N. Secretary General António Guterres urged Israel and Hamas to reach a cease-fire deal, calling it “an opportunity that cannot be missed.” A ground invasion in Rafah “would be intolerable because of its devastating humanitarian consequences,” he said.
At least 34,735 people have been killed and 78,108 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children.
Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 267 soldiers have been killed since the launch of its military operation in Gaza.
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