File Photo: Israeli military tanks roll near the border with the Gaza Strip. AFP
Al-Arabiya Al-Hadath satellite channel reported that Israeli military vehicles stand 200 meters away from the Rafah border crossing and targeted some of its buildings.
It also reported that heavy Israeli artillery shelling targeted the vicinity of the Rafah and Kerem Abu Salem border crossings.
"Israeli tanks penetrate areas east of Rafah and approach the border crossing," the channel reporter said, adding that intense gunfire and fierce clashes reported in eastern Rafah.
In parallel, an Israeli airstrikes hit Al-Nour Neighborhood east of the Palestinian city of Rafah, the channel stated.
Meanwhile, Egypt's Youm7 news website reported, according to eyewitnesses, that gunfire were exchanged between Palestinian factions and Israeli occupation forces near the Rafah border crossing on the Palestinian side.
The political reporter of Axios, Barak Ravid, stated that Israeli forces “are going to take over the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza in the next few hours,” according to two sources with direct knowledge of the issue.
On Monday evening, the Israeli war cabinet "unanimously decided that Israel would continue the operation in Rafah to apply military pressure on Hamas to promote the release of our hostages and achieve the other objectives of the war".
Shortly after, IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari reported that the Israeli forces "are now attacking and operating" against Hamas targets in a targeted manner in East Rafah. "More details will be provided later," Hagari wrote on his official X account.
Such development occured though earlier in the evening, Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, informed in phone calls to the Head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service (GIS) Abbas Kamel and the Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani that the movement has accepted their proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
In Rafah city, Palestine's last sanctuary for civilians in Gaza, nearly 1.5 million residents and displaced Palestinians have sought refuge from Israeli bombing since October 7th.
Earlier on Monday, Egypt warned of the dangers of a possible Israeli military operation in the Palestinian Rafah city in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry.
The ministry said any such military operation would pose significant humanitarian risks and threaten more than a million Palestinians in that area.
Egypt called on Israel to exercise the utmost restraint and avoid further escalation at this sensitive time during ceasefire negotiations, and to stop the shedding of Palestinian civilian blood who have been facing an unprecedented humanitarian disaster since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
The statement reaffirmed Egypt’s continued communication around the clock with all parties to prevent the situation from worsening or spiralling out of control.
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