Brian McDonald
Jerusalem – An Israeli tank brigade took control on Tuesday of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, authorities said, advancing an offensive on the southern city even as ceasefire negotiations with Hamas stay on the knife’s edge.
The change comes after hours of whiplash in the Israel-Hamas war, with the militant group saying on Monday it had accepted a ceasefire proposal brokered by Egypt and Qatar. Meanwhile, Israel insisted that the deal did not meet its main demands. The high-risk diplomatic measures and military boldness left a glimmer of hope alive – but just barely – for a deal that could bring at least a pause to the 7-month war that has devastated the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli 401st Brigade entered the Rafah crossing on Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said, taking “operational control” of the crucial crossing. It is the main route for aid to enter the besieged enclave and for those who manage to escape to Egypt to exit. Israel has fully controlled all access in and out of Gaza since the start of the war.
Images released by the Israeli military showed a tank entering the crossing. Details in the video matched known features of the crossing and showed Israeli flags flying from tanks that took over the area.
The Israeli military claimed it seized the crossing after receiving information that it was “being used for terrorist purposes.” The military did not immediately provide evidence to support the claim, although it did claim that the area around the pass had been used to launch a mortar attack that killed four Israeli soldiers and injured others near the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The military also said ground troops and airstrikes targeted suspected Hamas positions in Rafah.
Hatem Khaled/REUTERS
The Reuters news agency quotes Palestinian health officials as saying that 20 Palestinians were killed and several others injured in attacks that hit at least four homes.
Wael Abu Omar, spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority, acknowledged that Israeli forces have seized the crossing and closed the facilities for now. He said attacks have hit the area around the intersection since Monday.
A spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry declined to immediately comment on the Israeli seizure. Egypt has previously warned that any seizure of Rafah could lead Palestinians to flee across the border, a scenario that could threaten a 1979 peace deal with Israel that has been a pillar of regional security.
The offensive has once again raised the risks of an all-out Israeli assault on Rafah, a move the United States strongly opposes and which aid groups warn will be disastrous for some 1.4 million Palestinians taking refuge there.
Egyptian officials said the proposal called for a multi-stage ceasefire, starting with the limited release of hostages and the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops inside Gaza. The two sides would also negotiate a “permanent calm” that would lead to the full release of the hostages and a greater Israeli withdrawal from the territory, they said.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the proposal approved by Hamas was a watered-down version of an Egyptian offer that had aspects that Israel could not accept. “This would appear to be a ploy designed to make Israel appear to be the side refusing a deal,” said the Israeli official.
Hamas sought clearer guarantees for its fundamental demand to end the war and completely withdraw from Israel in exchange for the release of all hostages, but it was not clear whether any changes were made.
Israeli leaders have repeatedly rejected that commitment, vowing to continue their campaign until Hamas is destroyed following the October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.
Reuters reports that Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said its delegation would go to Cairo on Tuesday to resume indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
