Israel’s military has advanced further into the outskirts of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, targeting what it claims to be Hamas tunnel shafts. Meanwhile, negotiations between Israel and Hamas regarding a cease-fire and the release of hostages have hit a deadlock.
Israeli forces have not yet launched a full-scale offensive to capture the southernmost city in Gaza, which the Israeli government believes is necessary to defeat Hamas’s remaining battalions. However, in recent days, Israeli forces have moved into areas east of Rafah, including seizing the main border crossing to Egypt, describing the maneuver as a "precise counterterrorism operation."
Residents have reported intense artillery fire in parts of Rafah during the night. A United Nations official stated that he could hear loud explosions from across the city, describing the situation as resembling "real thunder" that shook them all night.
The latest round of talks in Cairo aimed at halting the fighting and freeing Israeli hostages held by Hamas failed to bridge the differences between the Palestinian militant group and Israel. Negotiators are now aiming to resume talks early next week in Cairo or Doha, according to Egyptian officials.
Hamas has agreed to potential terms for swapping hostages abducted by the group on Oct. 7 for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. However, these agreements come with conditions that Israel rejects, including a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the Israeli blockade on the enclave.
Humanitarian aid workers are warning that Israel’s military operation in eastern Rafah could exacerbate shortages of aid for the two million people across Gaza. Emergency supplies to the strip have heavily relied on access via the border crossings at Rafah and nearby Kerem Shalom, an Israeli community next to the southeast corner of Gaza.
United Nations officials say aid trucks that Israel has permitted through Kerem Shalom are unable to move further into Gaza due to the ongoing fighting. “We are not able to get to Kerem Shalom for lack of fuel and given the area is an active combat zone,” said Juliette Touma, a spokeswoman for UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.
The Israeli military liaison agency with aid groups stated on Friday that Hamas had fired at the Kerem Shalom crossing area. Hamas claimed its fighters had shelled an Israeli military target at Kerem Shalom with mortars and targeted Israeli tanks advancing toward Rafah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed for weeks to destroy Hamas’s battalions in Rafah, leading to mounting tensions with the U.S., Israel’s crucial ally, which opposes an all-out ground attack on the city.
The White House has repeatedly demanded that Israel move civilians out of harm’s way. More than a million Palestinian civilians have sought shelter in Rafah after fleeing from Israel’s invasion of other parts of Gaza.
The Biden administration this week paused a shipment of bombs to Israel and stated it is reviewing other weapons sales, in an effort to make Netanyahu reconsider his plan to take Rafah. Netanyahu responded that Israel will fight alone if necessary.
The Israeli military instructed residents in eastern Rafah to evacuate starting on Monday. It did not give a deadline for leaving the affected neighborhoods or mention when a broader offensive might start, but estimated that around 100,000 people would be affected.
Over 100,000 people have already fled the Rafah area in search of safety, according to UNRWA. Many are heading to a stretch of land along the coast west of Rafah where displaced families are mostly living in tents.
“Driving through Rafah, the tension was palpable,” said Nick Maynard, a surgeon for the U.K.-based nonprofit group Medical Aid for Palestinians, who witnessed the evacuations earlier in the week. “People were walking with all their belongings, some in cars and on donkeys.”
Israel has opted for a limited incursion into Rafah for now, aiming to pressure Hamas in the negotiations without escalating tensions with the U.S., said Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence.
“What we’re seeing in Rafah is only a limited operation in the east which is mostly unpopulated,” said Yadlin. “What will happen depends on the developments in negotiations and also the relationship with the U.S.”
Some members of Israel’s governing coalition have accused the U.S. of weakening Israel’s negotiating position by freezing a weapons shipment. U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller denied this at a press briefing on Thursday. “We actually think that a Rafah operation would weaken Israel’s position,” he said.
Negotiators from both Israel and Hamas are testing the U.S. by refusing to agree on the terms for a cease-fire, according to mediators from Arab states. Hamas is becoming more confident that the U.S. is pushing for a prolonged break in the fighting, while Israel is watching to see whether the U.S. will follow through on its threat to withhold further weapons deliveries, the Arab officials said.
Israel’s military reported killing about 50 militants in eastern Rafah in its latest operation and is searching the area after finding tunnel shafts built by Hamas. Militants have long used the border area with Egypt to smuggle weapons into Gaza, according to Israel.
The World Health Organization reported on Friday that one of its staff members was injured amid the bombardment in Rafah, and his seven-year-old niece was killed. “This is another devastating example of how unsafe it is in Rafah and across Gaza,” director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote.
More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s invasion of Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities. The number does not distinguish between civilians and militants. Israel’s military says it has killed around 13,000 militants from Hamas and other groups. Some Israeli military officials have said the total estimated death toll could be broadly accurate.
The invasion of Gaza followed Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, which killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israel.
UNRWA announced it would temporarily close its headquarters in East Jerusalem after Israeli protesters set fire to the perimeter on Thursday. UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini wrote that parts of the compound had sustained extensive damage, but no staff members had been hurt. He circulated a video in which a crowd can be heard chanting “burn down the United Nations.” Israeli police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israeli authorities have accused UNRWA of having links to Hamas, a charge the U.N. agency denies.
—Stephen Kalin and Anat Peled contributed to this article.