3 soldiers killed as Israeli tanks continue Rafah raids

Israel’s national security adviser expects fighting to last till end of year at least

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Israeli tanks conducted a second day of probing raids across Rafah on May 29, after Washington said the assault did not amount to a major ground incursion of the southern Gazan city that American officials had told Israel to avoid.

Israeli tanks advanced to the heart of Rafah for the first time on May 28 after a night of heavy bombardment, defying an appeal from the International Court of Justice to end its attack on the city, one of the last places of refuge in Gaza.

The United States, Israel's closest ally, reiterated its opposition to a major Israeli ground offensive in Rafah but said on May 28 it did not believe such an operation was under way.

Unlike tactics used in Israel's ground offensive in the rest of the enclave, Rafah residents said Israeli tanks mounted raids into Tel Al-Sultan in western Rafah and Yibna and near Shaboura in the centre before retreating towards a buffer zone near the border with Egypt.

Israel's military controls threequarters of the buffer zone and aims to control all of it to prevent Hamas from smuggling in weapons, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's national security adviser, Mr Tzachi Hanegbi, said.

He said he expects fighting in Gaza to continue throughout 2024 at least, signalling Israel is not ready to heed international calls to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas militants who run Gaza and exchange the hostages they hold for Palestinian prisoners.

The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said they confronted the invading forces with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs, as well as blowing up previously planted explosive devices.