RSS
Israel Takes Control of Gaza Side of Rafah Crossing, Targets Hamas Sites
Some rises after an Israeli strike as Israeli forces launch a ground and air operation in the eastern part of Rafah, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had taken operational control of the Palestinian side of Gaza‘s southern Rafah Crossing, which borders Egypt, while targeting the Hamas terrorist group’s fighters and infrastructure.
The military said forces were scanning the area in the morning after launching a ground and air operation in part of eastern Rafah on Monday night, amid diplomatic efforts abroad to achieve a new truce.
Throughout the seven-month conflict, Rafah, the only crossing not run by Israel, has been key for the delivery of aid in the Gaza war.
The Israeli military said a limited operation in Rafah was meant to kill terrorists and dismantle infrastructure used by Hamas, the Islamist group that governs the Palestinian enclave.
Israel‘s closest ally the United States has advised against an assault in Rafah, which Israeli officials have described as Hamas’ last bastion.
Palestinian health officials said Israeli tanks and planes pounded several areas in Rafah overnight.
Residents said Israel had dropped new leaflets on Tuesday, again warning people to leave areas in eastern Rafah.
Israeli tanks also shelled eastern areas of Beit Lahiya, Jabalia, and Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, residents said.
The Israeli military said most people and some international organizations had evacuated the area of eastern Rafah where it was operating. It said it killed some 20 fighters and found three tunnel shafts.
A separate, Israeli-controlled crossing nearby, Kerem Shalom, was closed on Tuesday for security reasons and will reopen once the security situation allows, the military said. Hamas on Sunday claimed responsibility for firing rockets at Israeli forces near the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
The war began when Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel from neighboring Gaza on Oct. 7, murdering 1,200 people and kidnapping over 250 others as hostages. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and incapacitating Hamas to the point that it can no longer pose a major threat to the Israeli people from Gaza.
The post Israel Takes Control of Gaza Side of Rafah Crossing, Targets Hamas Sites first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Body of Mohammed Sinwar Recovered from Gaza, Taken to Israel

A screengrab shows according to the Israeli Army, Hamas Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar, taken from a handout video, released Dec/ 17, 2023. Photo: Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – During excavations carried out recently in the area of the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, several bodies were found – i24NEWS learned on Sunday that one belonged to late Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, which is now being held in Israel.
On Saturday night, the Israel Defense Forces published documentation from the underground space located under the European Hospital in Khan Yunis. The tunnels include a command and control complex from which the fighting was conducted by senior Hamas commanders. During the scans, several additional bodies of terrorists were found.
About three weeks ago, Israel heavily shelled the hospital area, targeting the underground space below it, where the terrorist organization’s headquarters was located. In recent days, Israeli forces have been operating in the area, with an emphasis on underground tunnels, and have located the body. The IDF’s recovery of Sinwar’s body contradicts a previous report, according to which Hamas recovered his body from the tunnel under the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, and buried it in a tunnel in the Deir al-Balah area.
Sinwar was one of the senior and veteran figures in Hamas’ military wing, and took a significant part in the planning and execution of the murderous massacre on October 7, 2023, in which he served as head of the operations headquarters. After the assassination of military commander Mohammed Deif, Sinwar was appointed by his brother, late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, to the position. He was an influential and central factor in the organization’s decision-making, promoting Hamas’s effort to rehabilitate after IDF operations.
Now, Israel possesses the bodies of both Sinwar brothers, with much of the Hamas leadership eliminated in the more than 600 days since the war began.
The post Body of Mohammed Sinwar Recovered from Gaza, Taken to Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Hamas Militants Kill Gaza Civilians, Publicly Asserting Brutal Control

A drone view shows buildings lying in ruins, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, Jan. 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Al-Basos
i24 News – The Israeli army released footage from the Gaza Strip on Sunday showing a Palestinian brutally shot dead in public by what the military claims is a Hamas militant.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, General Ghassan Alian, released the footage via military channels. According to the official statement, the brutal execution took place last weekend in a Gaza City square, in front of witnesses. Israeli military authorities described the footage as “exceptional documentation” illustrating the Islamist movement’s methods against its own population.
General Alian addressed the residents of Gaza directly in a statement – “Hamas, terrorists, and criminals are killing you and do not care about your lives,” he said. “There is no difference between a dictator who kills in silence and a terrorist who massacres openly. Both are your enemies and the enemies of life.”
Alian described the act as “a desperate, further, and failed attempt to sow public fear in order to preserve Hamas’s rule, power, and governance, while cynically trampling on and exploiting the residents of Gaza for the survival of the Hamas terrorist regime and the preservation of its rule.”
Meanwhile, the IDF is intensifying its operations in key flashpoints in Gaza, particularly in Jabalia and Khan Yunis. Military forces continue to reach areas where they were not previously present.
The post Hamas Militants Kill Gaza Civilians, Publicly Asserting Brutal Control first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Two of Four Israeli Soldiers Killed in Gaza Building Collapse Identified

Tom Rothstein and the late Uri Jonathan Cohen / Photo: Israeli army spokesman
i24 News – Four Israeli soldiers were killed on Friday in the collapse of a building in Khan Younis during a military operation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The incident occurred during an offensive by the 98th Division targeting Hamas infrastructure in northern Khan Younis, near Bani Suheila.
The fallen soldiers were identified as Staff Sergeant Tom Rotstein, 23, from Ramat Gan; Staff Sergeant Uri Yehonatan Cohen, 20, from Neve Yarok; Reserve Staff Sergeant Chen Gross, 33; and Staff Sergeant Yoav Rovor, 19. All served in the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit.
According to IDF sources, the soldiers were part of a mission to secure a Hamas compound believed to contain underground tunnels. A powerful explosive device detonated during the operation, causing the structure to partially collapse and trap the soldiers inside.
Five additional soldiers were wounded—one seriously and four moderately. They were airlifted to hospitals, while search and recovery teams from the Home Front Command worked for hours to extract the bodies from the rubble.
This latest incident brings the total number of Israeli military fatalities to eight this week alone, raising the overall death toll to 424 since the start of the ground offensive in Gaza.
Earlier this week, three soldiers from the Rotem Battalion of the Givati Brigade were killed by an improvised explosive device in the northern Gaza Strip. Reserve Staff Sergeant Alon Perkas, 27, also died during separate combat in the Shejaiya neighborhood.
The IDF continues its operations in Gaza as military and political leaders navigate the high costs of an enduring conflict with Hamas.
The post Two of Four Israeli Soldiers Killed in Gaza Building Collapse Identified first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login