Israel increases bombing in Rafah

2024-06-07 12:51:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

With no sign of progress in efforts by mediators to broker a ceasefire in the Gaza war, Israeli forces pounded the town of Rafah from the air and on the ground overnight, as tanks moved west of the city, Gazans said.

Heavy clashes were also reported between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters led by Hamas.

Residents said tanks that have taken control along the border with Egypt carried out several attacks towards the west and the center of the southern city, injuring several residents who were trapped inside their homes and caught by surprise.

"I think the occupation forces are trying to reach the beach area of ??Rafah city. The night strikes were tactical. They came under heavy fire before withdrawing," said a Palestinian resident.

"It was one of the worst nights. Several people were injured inside their homes before they were evacuated this morning," he told the Reuters news agency.

Israeli forces have also operated inside Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip, while holding two other camps and a nearby town under heavy shelling from aircraft and tanks, killing and wounding several Palestinians, medics said.

Hamas's armed wings, Islamic Jihad and other smaller groups, reported that their fighters carried out attacks against Israeli occupation forces in several areas in the center and south of the enclave.

Mediators from Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have stepped up efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement that would end hostilities, secure the release of Israeli hostages and a number of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, but sources people close to the talks said there were no signs of progress.

Since a brief one-week ceasefire in November, all efforts to secure a ceasefire have failed, with Hamas sticking to its demand for a permanent end to the conflict. Israel says it is prepared to discuss only temporary pauses until the militant group is defeated.

"We have shown all the necessary willingness to reach an agreement, but the Israeli occupiers continue to reject any commitment to end the aggression and withdraw forces from the Gaza Strip," a Hamas official told Reuters.

"The occupiers and the Americans are to blame for the lack of an agreement until now, because they do not want this war against our people to end," he said.

Hamas escalated the war with an October 7 attack last year on Israeli territory, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli data. About half of the hostages were released in the November ceasefire.

Israel's military assault on Gaza has left more than 36,000 dead, according to health officials in the territory, who say thousands more are suspected to be buried under the rubble.

American and Israeli officials have told Reuters that half of Hamas forces have been killed in the conflict. Hamas does not disclose the number of casualties among its fighters, and some officials say Israel has inflated the numbers. The number of Israeli soldiers killed is almost 300. /VOA