IDF stresses limited operation, says ‘vast majority’ of people in eastern Rafah have evacuated
The “vast majority” of people ordered to evacuate parts of eastern Rafah have left the area, the Israeli military said this morning after launching what it stressed was a limited ground operation last night in the city, where more than a million Palestinians have taken shelter.
Israeli forces have been targeting “specific” areas based on “precise intelligence,” the IDF said in a briefing this morning. Among those targets has been the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing, which Israeli forces took operational control of last night.
The IDF said it was acting on intelligence indicating the Rafah Crossing was being used for “terrorist purposes” after alleging the area around the crossing had been used to launch a mortar attack that saw four Israeli soldiers killed over the weekend. The IDF said that since Israeli forces launched their ground operation, around 20 militants had been killed.
“We have indications, part of it was the shooting two days ago but we have also intelligence indications that the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing and I emphasize the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing was being used for terrorist purposes by Hamas,” the IDF said. The IDF did not immediately provide evidence to support its claims.
