Israel has launched a major military offensive against Hamas forces in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, seizing control of a key border crossing and cutting off most aid into the territory a day before indirect talks on a ceasefire deal are due to restart.
Images released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) showed tanks flying large Israeli flags driving through the post and crushing a concrete sign reading “I Love Gaza”.
Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, said the offensive would continue until Hamas forces in Rafah “and the entire Gaza Strip” were “eliminated” or the militant Islamist organisation begins to release hostages.
Aid officials in the territory said the flow of humanitarian assistance through the Rafah crossing had been entirely halted, leaving reserves of fuel only sufficient to run the extensive relief operation in Gaza for another day.
On Sunday Israel’s military told civilians in eastern neighbourhoods of Rafah to head for what it calls an “expanded humanitarian zone” at al-Mawasi along the coast and around the largely deserted city of Khan Younis.
The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s grip on power could slip if he loses support of far-right coalition allies who oppose any concessions to Hamas, but there is also pressure to free the remaining hostages.
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