The Israeli army expanded its incursion into Rafah on Wednesday, with military vehicles advancing towards Al-Qarara in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip under heavy fire cover, as well as east of the Bureij and Al-Maghazi camps in the central Strip.
According to the Anadolu news agency, citing eyewitnesses, Israeli vehicles advanced towards the Al-Karaj Al-Sharqi area and the vicinity of Al-Awda Mosque and Al-Shaboura Camp in central Rafah, amid intense gunfire and artillery shelling.
The agency reported that the vehicles remain positioned north of Al-Najjar Hospital and around the Rafah crossing, as well as in the Al-Salam and Al-Tanour neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city.
The vehicles are also stationed in Tal Zorob and near the Tal Al-Sultan Police Station, advancing along Al-Zar Street, Al-Quds Street, and around the Zorob Roundabout in western Rafah.
Fierce clashes, including continuous explosions, erupted around Al-Shaboura Camp, Qishta Neighborhood, Al-Awda Roundabout, Al-Quds Street, and near the Tal Al-Sultan Police Station, Al-Jazeera reported.
Israeli occupation forces continued their heavy bombardment of the central #Gaza Strip camps. pic.twitter.com/jUAOYrRHEy
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The Israeli occupation army stated that its forces launched a concentrated military campaign east of Deir al-Balah and the Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip, based on intelligence provided by the Military Intelligence Division and the Internal Security Service (Shin Bet) regarding the presence of Palestinian fighters.
The army added in a statement that its forces began raid operations in the Bureij area and launched a ground attack on Deir al-Balah to destroy what it described as terrorist structures located kilometers from the border.
The statement confirmed that military operations continue in what is known as the Netzarim Corridor, separating the northern Gaza Strip from its central and southern regions.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army reported that ten soldiers were injured in battles in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported that several people were killed and others injured in an Israeli bombing that targeted a home belonging to the Al-Dawli family in the Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip early this morning. The injured were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital for treatment.
Widespread Destruction
Al-Jazeera obtained photos showing the destruction left by the Israeli occupation army after withdrawing from the vicinity of the University College in the Al-Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City. The photos also showed decomposing bodies in the city’s streets.
AL-JAZEERA: Several Palestinians were killed and wounded were killed in an Israeli raid on a house in the Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip.
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Al-Jazeera added that Israeli occupation forces arrested several Palestinians, including women, on Wednesday after besieging a house southeast of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
A spokesman for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said the hospital is currently serving about one million people and is facing severe shortages of medical supplies and personnel.
The hospital spokesman appealed to the international community to deploy field hospitals to help manage the health crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Gaza Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 36,550 Palestinians have been killed, and 82,959 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
(PC, AJA)
