Israeli Ground Forces Enter Rafah, Tank Unit Shuts Down Vital Border Crossing

Overnight it's been confirmed that Israeli ground forces have begun moving into Rafah, with IDF tanks having seized Gaza's vital Rafah border crossing in the last hours. The IDF plans to monitor all aid going into the Gaza Strip, but international aid organizations warn this could be a death sentence for a population already teetering on the brink of full-blown famine.

In a Monday phone call President Biden had warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against launching a ground attack on Rafah, but the Israeli leader has once again brushed off US 'red lines' as well as the warnings of other international allies like France.

In a first reaction since tanks entered Rafah, the US State Department has said: "We continue to believe that a hostage deal is in the best interest of the Israeli and the Palestinian people; it would bring an immediate ceasefire and allow increased humanitarian assistance into Gaza."

An anonymous Israeli official has claimed to local media that this is a "limited operation" and that at this point the offensive is being used for leverage by Tel Aviv. "It is being implemented to pressure Hamas" to accept a deal, the officials said.

Israel has claimed that the Rafah crossing is being used "for terrorist purposes" after four IDF troops were killed near Kerem Shalom on Sunday due to an attack launched from near the crossing by Hamas militants. 

The UN humanitarian affairs office has described that all fuel for aid trucks and generators enters the Strip through the Rafah crossing and that "If no fuel comes in for a prolonged period of time, it would be a very effective way of putting the humanitarian operation in its grave." 

But The Associated Press has confirmed:

The Israeli 401st Brigade entered the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing early Tuesday, the Israeli military said, taking “operational control” of it. Footage released by the military showed Israeli flags flying from tanks that seized the area. It also said that ground troops and airstrikes targeted suspected Hamas positions in Rafah.

Egypt now fears that a quarter-million people could quickly pour across the border and into the Sinai. Already Reuters has reported at least 23 people killed, including six women and five children, according to local hospitals.

Mass exodus of civilians seeking escape from Rafah...

A Palestinian victim of the onslaught, Abu Amra, has been cited in Al Jazeera as saying. "We did nothing … we don’t have Hamas," after his wife, two brothers, sister, and niece were reported killed. "We found fire devouring us. The house was turned upside down."

But Israel's military says its operations are targeted and aimed at rooting out terrorists. According to one limited operation detailed in Times of Israel:

The IDF and Border Police say they have wrapped up a 20-hour operation in the West Bank city of Tulkarem. Amid the operation, troops killed a gunman, detained six wanted Palestinians, seized weaponry and demolished three bomb-making labs, the military says.

Combat engineers also ripped up roads where explosive devices were planted, the IDF adds.

Newly leaked video from Rafah shows a tank crushing an "I love Gaza" sign...

So far, it seems a deal is not yet completely lost, as Israeli officials are said to be examining the Egyptian-Qatari proposed deal that on Monday Hamas said it had agreed to.

But Hamas has condemned the "dangerous escalation" in Rafah, saying in a statement, "This crime – which comes directly after the Hamas movement announced its approval of the mediators’ proposal – confirms the occupation’s
intention to disrupt mediation efforts for a ceasefire and the release of prisoners." Meanwhile, domestic pressure in the US will grow for the Biden administration to do something.