On Wednesday, Israeli forces launched numerous assaults across Gaza, with Raifah in the region’s south witnessing severe confrontations throughout the night, according to local accounts. The battle has escalated in the Tel Al-Sultan region in Raifah’s west, where tanks are pushing north as the skirmishes continue to intensify. Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad’s armed factions claim to have retaliated with anti-tank missiles and mortars.
The ground battle since the beginning of May has centred on Rafah, which borders Egypt on the southern tip of Gaza. Nearly half of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants had sought refuge there, having evacuated other zones, but many have since had to relocate once more.
Earlier on Wednesday, medical sources reported that an Israeli missile strike in Rafah had left two Palestinians dead. An official statement from the Israeli army detailed how they had eliminated a Hamas militant allegedly involved in weapon smuggling across the Rafah-Egypt border.
Overnight Israeli jets confirmed hitting numerous militant locations in Rafah, including combatants, military facilities and tunnel openings. In the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, a residential building was demolished by an Israeli airstrike, leading to the death of four Palestinians and injuring several others, according to medical teams.
The ground and air attacks by Israel on Gaza were instigated by a militant invasion of southern Israel by Hamas on October 7th, resulting in approximately 1,200 fatalities and the capture of over 250 hostages, as reflected in Israeli records. The Israeli counteroffensive has, as of Tuesday, claimed 37,658 lives according to the Hamas-led health ministry in Gaza, who noted the extensive wreckage in the heavily urbanised strip.
There is yet to be a ceasefire agreement despite international mediation efforts backed by the USA, over eight months into the conflict. Hamas insists on an end to the war and complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza for any deal, whereas Israel will only consent to temporary battle suspensions until Hamas is annihilated.
Gaza’s north is experiencing a severe food shortage and escalating costs, affecting thousands of children suffering from malnutrition, which has claimed at least 30 lives since October 7th. Despite some aid preventing widespread severe hunger, particularly in the north, a global monitor on Tuesday warned of Gaza being on the brink of famine.
An update from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global partnership utilised by the United Nations and relief organisations, has revealed severe to “catastrophic” levels of food insecurity affecting over 495,000 individuals in the Gaza Strip. This figure, while lower than the previously projected 1.1 million from three months prior, still covers more than 20% of Gaza’s populace, as confirmed by Reuters.