Palestinian reports said Tuesday that Israeli tanks entered central Rafah for the first time and added seeing tanks near the Al-Awda Mosque, a central landmark in the city less than a week after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague ordered a halt to the military’s operations in Gaza’s border city.
The IDF announced on Tuesday that an additional brigade had joined the ones already fighting in the Rafah area under the 162nd Division. The military noted that the 401st and Nahal Brigades operated on the Philadelphi Corridor overnight against terror targets and infrastructure, acting based on detailed intelligence indicating terrorists were present in the area.
"The operation is conducted with efforts to avoid harming non-combatants," the IDF said in a statement. "The forces are engaged in battles with terrorists and identifying underground tunnels in the area."
The military’s advance in Rafah comes two days after a strike in the city that killed senior Hamas figures and reportedly resulted in over 40 civilian casualties according to Palestinian sources. The attack sparked global protests against Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the civilian deaths in the area was a "tragic mistake."
Prior to Tuesday’s advance, IDF tanks were positioned on the outskirts of Rafah, near the Egyptian border crossing. According to residents, some of these tanks had entered neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city, which were today spotted in central Rafah.
Reports from Gaza indicate at least 16 Palestinians were killed in overnight strikes in the city. One of the strikes targeted the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood and reportedly included artillery fire and drones.
Palestinians also claimed that the top floor of the Indonesian Hospital in the neighborhood was bombed, prompting dozens of families to leave the hospital and their homes. UNRWA reported Tuesday that a million people have left Rafah in the past three weeks.
Following the strike in Rafah, the UN Security Council will convene for an urgent discussion on the incident on Tuesday, diplomatic sources told French news agency AFP. The sources said the council would meet at Algeria's request, with many countries worldwide urging Israel to comply with the ICJ’s decision on the operation in Rafah, which allegedly called for an end to the military action in the Gazan city.