Israel’s military forces continued their operations in eastern Rafah, as well as in the northern Gaza areas of Jabaliya and Zeitoun, according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces on Sunday. Acting on intelligence information, troops conducted precise operations in specific locations within eastern Rafah and on the Gaza side of the Rafah Crossing. During these operations, soldiers located and dismantled several tunnel shafts and rocket launchers that were prepared to launch attacks towards Israeli territory.
Additionally, Israeli aircraft conducted airstrikes that resulted in the death of 10 armed Hamas members who were seen leaving a terror facility.
Israel recently took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and also seized a strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border known as the Philadelphi corridor. This corridor, established after Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2006, serves as a buffer zone to prevent weapons smuggling. Hamas gained control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority in 2007.
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Israeli military vehicles have been observed patrolling the entire 12-kilometer border between Gaza and Egypt. The Egypt-Gaza border is a politically sensitive area and is considered a demilitarized zone under the terms of the Camp David Accords signed in 1978.
Hamas’s control of the Rafah crossing allowed it to hijack humanitarian aid deliveries from Egypt. Meanwhile, ground forces are continuing to operate in the Zeitoun area of northern Gaza to eliminate terrorists and dismantle terror infrastructure. Over the past day, troops eliminated several terrorists in air strikes and in close-quarters combat.
Meanwhile, in the northern Gaza area of Jabaliya, ground forces began a new operation after calling on civilians to temporarily evacuate the area. The operation was based on intelligence that Hamas was trying to rebuild its infrastructure and operatives in the area.
Aircraft struck approximately 30 targets before ground forces entered the area. Moreover, over the past day, Israeli aircraft struck and dismantled over 150 Hamas targets throughout Gaza, eliminating terror squads, ready-to-fire rocket launchers, weapon storage facilities, observation posts, tunnel shafts, and other terror infrastructure.
