The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday that it has taken “operational control” of the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt. Wael Abu Omar, a Gaza border official, said travel and the flow of aid into the Strip “stopped completely” as a result. Hamas said it agreed to a Qatari-Egyptian cease-fire proposal, and Israel said it would send meditators to negotiate, renewing hopes for a pause in fighting even as Israel vowed to press on with its military operation in Rafah.
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End of carouselHamas called Israel’s “storming” of the Rafah border crossing overnight a “dangerous escalation.” The group accused Israel of trying to “exacerbate the humanitarian situation in the Strip by closing” the crossing, through which aid flows into Gaza and patients leave for medical treatment in other countries.
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 efforts to secure a hostage deal, according to a White House readout of the conversation.
At least 34,789 people have been killed and 78,204 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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End of carouselHamas called Israel’s “storming” of the Rafah border crossing overnight a “dangerous escalation.” The group accused Israel of trying to “exacerbate the humanitarian situation in the Strip by closing” the crossing, through which aid flows into Gaza and patients leave for medical treatment in other countries.
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 efforts to secure a hostage deal, according to a White House readout of the conversation.
At least 34,789 people have been killed and 78,204 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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