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Israeli forces have captured a border crossing between Egypt and Rafah. The army reports Hamas tunnels in the area.
Rafah – Parts of the staff of a border crossing in Rafah are said to be Hamas According to the Israeli army (IDF), members of the terrorist organization’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, have blocked the crossing in Gaza Strip They had carried out the terrorist attack on October 7th Israel The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip was captured by Israeli forces on the night of May 7. Since then, it has been closed to aid deliveries – which, according to aid organizations, has further worsened the humanitarian situation on the ground.
According to a report in the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post According to the newspaper, the ID of a worker from the maintenance department of the border checkpoint was confiscated during a search of the border crossing. Another ID card was found under the same name, Kamal Ghizan Abu Mousa. This identifies the person in question as a member of Hamas’ Ezedeen Al-Qassam Brigades. The newspaper learned this from an unnamed source within the IDF. The information cannot be independently verified.
Rafah remains closed – IDF wants to “liberate the area from Hamas terrorist activities”
The military source also emphasized that the IDF’s task at the border crossing is to “clear the area of Hamas terrorist activities and ensure that goods brought into the Gaza Strip go to Gazans and not to Hamas terrorists.” They are certain that there are “other terrorists connected to the border crossing that we will uncover in the future.” The ID document found is therefore just “one of many findings that prove that Hamas is de facto conducting business secretly and exploiting the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing for its own survival.”
The source also highlighted that in recent weeks IDF forces have uncovered tunnel shafts in the area that have been used by Hamas for attacks. This also shows “how Hamas exercises control over the area surrounding the crossing.” Hamas, the report continued, has repeatedly fired rockets from the Rafah crossing at the Kerem Shalom crossing and its surroundings. The area has thus been used to threaten aid convoys attempting to reach Gazans.
IDF closes border crossing – Rafah is considered one of the most important delivery routes for humanitarian aid
This explanation is largely consistent with Israel’s original justification. “IDF forces captured the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing after learning that Hamas was using it for terrorist purposes,” said IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani on May 7. Another Israeli official had announced at the time that there were plans to reopen the crossing for humanitarian goods after the IDF had completed the “cleansing” of the Hamas presence in the area. This was reported by the US news website Axios.
The checkpoint in Rafah is considered one of the most important delivery routes for humanitarian aid for the people in the Gaza Strip. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warned on May 7 that the closure of the crossing would endanger aid for the refugees in the enclave. US President Joe Biden had already been informed by the Israeli Prime Minister before the start of the operation Benjamin Netanyahu assured that there would be a replacement. The Israeli government then committed to opening the nearby Kerem-Shalom border crossing for aid deliveries.
The famine in the Gaza Strip continues to grow – although Israel says enough calories are being supplied
According to the United Nations (U.N.), only a few trucks have entered the Gaza Strip via Kerem Shalom since May 5. This is what the news agency Reuters in a report from Friday (May 24). There was not a single one via Rafah – which is why a kilometer-long traffic jam had formed on the road between the Egyptian side of the border crossing and the city of al-Arish. Some trucks have been stuck for more than two months, warned Khaled Zayed, the local head of the Egyptian Red Crescent. Fresh food in particular, but also medicines, have become unusable due to the heat, the report continued. Some of them are being sold in Egypt at knockdown prices.
At the same time, people in the Palestinian enclave have Reuters are struggling with an increase in hunger. Opinions on who is responsible for this vary widely. Israel claims that it is allowing enough food to pass through. According to a report by the Times of Israel Data from COGAT, a civilian arm of the IDF, from Friday (May 24) indicate an average of 3,163 calories per day per resident. According to the IDF, the fault lies with Hamas. They are holding back food in order to further fuel hatred. Aid organizations, on the other hand, accuse Israel of allowing very little aid to pass through. Oxfam estimates that 245 calories per day per person actually arrive in the northern Gaza Strip. (tpn)
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