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Israel has captured the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing. Here's what that could mean
From CNN staff
Israel's military on Tuesday said it had seized control of the Palestinian side of theRafah crossing, a vital entry point for aid to Gaza on the Egyptian border.
APalestinian officialsaid all movement had stopped at the facility in southern Gaza after it was captured by Israeli tanks.
Here's what to know about the crossing:
- What is the Rafah crossing? The facility is the only Gaza border crossing not controlled by Israel, which shut its crossings with the Palestinian territory following Hamas’ October 7 attack. Since the war began, the Rafah crossing has emerged as a crucial location allowing in limited humanitarian aid, and the evacuation of a small number of Palestinians and foreign nationals.
- What's happening there now? Israel's military has seized control of the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing, an Israeli military official said Tuesday. The official said military operations at the crossing are ongoing, but refused to say how long Israeli troops would controlthe facility. It comes after days of deadly Israeli airstrikes on Rafah, and an Israeli evacuation order for Palestinians in parts of the city.
- What does it mean for aid? The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said this capture could halt humanitarian relief efforts across Gaza, if supply routes for aid and fuel supplies are interrupted. CNN has reached out to Israel's military and officials for comment on any plans to facilitate aid deliveries to Gaza.
- How about Israel's wider plans? A source familiar with Israeli plans told CNN the Israeli operation into Rafah would be "very limited," intended to keep pressure on Hamas to agree to a deal that would bring about a ceasefire and hostage release deal. The source said the operation is not the larger incursion into Rafah that Israel has been publicly messaging for weeks.
- Where does this leave Palestinian refugees? Hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Rafah are now at a loss for where to go next, with thousands fleeing Israel's incessant airstrikes. More than 1 million Palestinians have fled to Rafah during seven months of war, with many of their homes already destroyed or inaccessible in the northern part of the strip.
Israeli military operation at Rafah crossing will disrupt aid to Gaza, UN agency warns
From CNN’s Ibrahin Dahman and Martin Goillandeau
Humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza may be brought to a standstill by Israeli troops' seizure of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing, a UN agency warned on Tuesday.
“Continued interruption of the entry of aid and fuel supplies at the Rafah crossing will halt the critical humanitarian response across the Gaza Strip,” said UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, in a post on social platform X.
The “catastrophic hunger faced by people especially in northern Gaza will get much worse if these supply routes are interrupted,” UNRWA added.
Israel's military said it has taken control of the Palestinian side of the crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which is a crucial entry point for humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave. A Palestinian official said all movement had stopped at the facility after it was captured by Israeli tanks.
CNN has reached out to Israel's military and officials for comment on any plans to facilitate aid deliveries to Gaza.
Limited Israeli operation in Rafah aims to keep pressure on Hamas to agree a deal, source says
From CNN's Oren Lierbermann
A limited Israeli operation into Rafah is intended to keep pressure on Hamas to agree to a deal that would bring about a ceasefire and a hostage release, a source familiar with Israeli plans told CNN.
Israel informed the US of the plans to evacuate the area in eastern Rafah and conduct the operation before the call Monday between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the source said.
The source described the operation as “very limited” and said it is not the larger incursion into Rafah that Israel has been publicly messaging for weeks.
Some context: Israeli airstrikes killed multiple people in Rafah early Tuesday,Palestinian officials said, after Israel reiterated its commitment to an offensive in southern Gaza, saying ceasefire terms responded to by Hamas were "far from" meeting its demands. Israel will send a delegation for further talks, which Qatar said would resume Tuesday.
Israeli military says it has captured Palestinian side of Rafah crossing
From CNN’s Lucas Lilieholm
Israel's military has seized control of the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing, an Israeli military official said Tuesday.
The facility is the sole crossing between Gaza and Egypt and a crucial entry point for humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian enclave.
“We have operational control of the area and the crossing,” the Israeli military official said.
Military operations at the crossing are ongoing, the official added.
"We have special forces scanning the crossing; that is what's happening in the upcoming hours," they said. "We have operational control of the area of the crossing and we have special forces handling there."
The official refused to say how long Israeli troops would controlthe crossing,
Video from the Israel Defense Forces showed Israeli flags raised on the Palestinian side of the crossing.
Earlier, a Palestinian official told CNN all movement on the crossing had stopped after Israeli tanks captured the facility on the Palestinian side.
This post has been updated with additional information.
There's "nowhere safe to go" in Gaza, aid worker says
From CNN staff
Palestinians awoke to the sound of Israeli airstrikes in Rafah on Tuesday, with hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the southern Gaza city at a loss for where to go next, an aid worker said.
Speaking to CNN from Rafah, Suze van Meegen, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council's (NRC) operations in Gaza, said she saw thousands of people fleeing the airstrikes and the "increasing sound of artillery southeast as well, which is very close to the Rafah crossing."
"Not only is there nowhere safe to go, for many people there's also no way to get there," she said.
More than 1 million Palestinians have fled to Rafah during seven months of war; many of them have described their fear and despair after Israel's military told them to evacuate eastern parts of the city on Monday.
Israel's deadly strikes early Tuesday came after Israeli officials said ceasefire terms that Hamas responded to Monday were "far from" meeting its demands.
Confusion over a purported ceasefire deal had initially sparked "huge celebrations on the streets" of Rafah before the Israeli bombing resumed, Van Meegen said.
"It's adding to the confusion, but also the emotional roller coaster that people are being dragged along," she said. "And what we're seeing is that people just can't take anymore of the ups and downsand the uncertainty — and wondering whether they can protect their kids and families."
Israeli airstrikes kill 15 in Rafah, hospital officials say
From CNN’s Abeer Salman
Israeli airstrikes on Rafah overnight killed 15 people, including a child, according to hospital officials in southern Gaza on Tuesday.
The reports from medical officials at the Abu Yousef Al Najjar and Al Kuwaiti hospitals come after the Palestinian Civil Defense earlier said its teams had recovered bodies from several homes struck by Israeli aircraft in Rafah.
Israel has vowed to "exert military pressure on Hamas" in Rafah after saying the ceasefire terms the Palestinian militant group responded to Monday were "far from" meeting its demands.
Rafah crossing closed after Israeli troops capture Palestinian side, official says
From CNN's Kareem Khadder and Abeer Salman
All movement on the Rafah crossing has stopped after Israeli tanks captured the facility on the Palestinian side, a Palestinian official told CNN on Tuesday.
The facility is the sole crossing between Gaza and Egypt and a crucial entry point for humanitarian aid.
"Passenger movement and entry of aid to the Gaza Strip has completely ceased," said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesperson for the General Authority of Border and Crossing.
Crossings stopped "after Israeli tanks captured the crossing facilities from the Palestinian side," he said, adding the facility had been under fire since Monday afternoon.
Images spreading on social media show Israeli flags and a video of a tank at the crossing.
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for a response, and an announcement is expected soon.
"I am leaving for the unknown": Palestinians fleeing Rafah describe their fear and despair
From CNN's Helen Regan, Abeer Salman, Tareq Al Hilou and Tim Lister
Palestinian civilianstold to evacuateeastern Rafah by the Israeli military have described their fear and despair at being uprooted from their homes and shelters, as Israel airstrikes hit Gaza’s southernmost city.
“We left because they distributed leaflets,” Mohammed Ghanem, a resident in eastern Rafah told a CNN stringer in the area on Monday. “(They) are striking everywhere without differentiating between children, adults, militants or non-militants. I left my house that I have been building for 17 years.”
Ghanem and his wife were pushing strollers piled high with belongings.“We no longer have a home. We are heading to Mawasi because there is no safety with the Israelis. They are killing women and children,” he said.
Another woman from eastern Rafah said, “The Israelis sent us messages ordering us to leave. We cannot stay.”
Earlier on Monday, the Israeli militarycalled onan estimated 100,000 Palestinians living in parts of eastern Rafah to “evacuate immediately,” telling them to move to Al-Mawasi, a coastal town near the city of Khan Younis that aid groups say is not appropriate for habitation.
In a statement, the office of Israel’s prime minister said the country’s war cabinet had “unanimously decided” to continue with the Rafah operation “to exert military pressure on Hamas.”
It's morning in Gaza. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
Israeli airstrikes killed multiple people in Rafah early Tuesday,Palestinian officials said, after Israel reiterated its commitment to an offensive in southern Gaza.
Israel has vowed to "exert military pressure on Hamas" in Rafah after saying the ceasefire terms the Palestinian militant group responded to Monday were "far from" meeting its demands.
International leaders, including the United Nations chief, have urged Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire deal as tensions escalate on the ground after the Israeli militarycalled onPalestinians in eastern Rafah to "evacuate immediately."
Here's what to know:
- Negotiations stall: Hamas on Monday said itresponded a ceasefire dealproposed by Egypt and Qatar, but Israel said the terms Hamas accepted were still far from meeting its "requirements." However, Israel said it will send a delegation to Cairo for further talks, which mediator Qatar said would resume Tuesday.
- Deadly strikes: Palestinian officials reported multiple fatalities in Rafah following Israeli airstrikes early Tuesday. It comes after at least 26 people were killed by strikes from late Sunday into the early hours of Monday, the Civil Defense said. Separately, video and images showedmultiple explosions in Rafah on Monday night, which US officials said they did not believe to be the beginning of Israel's operation.
- Mass evacuations: Palestinians evacuating easternRafahdescribedtheirfearanddespair, after Israel's evacuation order raised fears that its long-threatened assault on the city could be imminent. Throughout the war, more than 1 million Palestinians have fled to Rafah, where Hamas is believed to have regrouped after Israel’s destruction of much of northern Gaza.
- International response: Qatar and Jordan expressed hope for a ceasefire deal, while the White House said the US remains opposed to an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah and that President JoeBiden had been briefedabout where things stand on negotiations. Meanwhile, the UN secretary-general warned that a Rafah ground invasion would be "intolerable" and the UN human rights chief called Israel's evacuation order "inhumane."
