Israeli Tanks Still Patroling In Rafah Amid Gaza's Armistice Uncertainty

Nuseirat Gaza/DOK UNRWA

JAKARTA - Israeli tanks pushed further into the western region of Rafah amid an attack that forced many families to flee their homes and tents in the dark.

Residents say Israeli forces are moving towards the Al-Mawasi region in Rafah near the coast, designated as a humanitarian area in all announcements and maps published by Israeli soldiers since they began the Rafah attack in May.

The Israeli military denies launching any attacks within the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone.

Israel said its attack aimed at eliminating Hamas' last intact combat unit in Rafah, a city hosting more than one million people before the last attack began. Most of them have now moved north to Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military said in a statement it was continuing the "targeted and intelligence-based operation" in Rafah, saying Israeli forces had found weapons and killed Palestinian gunmen in close combat.

Over the past day, the military said it attacked 45 targets in the Gaza Strip from the air, including military buildings, militant cells, rocket launchers, and tunnels.

Israel put aside peace until Hamas was eradicated, and much of Gaza's territory was destroyed. But Hamas has proven resilient, with militants reappearing to fight war in areas where Israeli forces had previously declared they had beaten them and then withdrew.

The group welcomed the proposed new US ceasefire but made several amendments, reaffirming its stance any agreement should end the war, a demand that Israel still rejects.

Israel described Hamas' response to the new US peace proposal as a total rejection. But efforts to reach an agreement are still ongoing, according to mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States.

Since the brief ceasefire for a week in November 2023, repeated attempts to regulate the ceasefire have failed, with Hamas insisting on ending the war permanently and Israel's full withdrawal from Gaza.