Israel advances further into Rafah

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Israeli tanks forged deeper into eastern Rafah on Tuesday, reaching some residential districts of the southern border city where more than a million people had been sheltering after being displaced in seven months of war.

«The tanks advanced this morning west of Salahuddin Road into the Brzail and Jneina neighbourhoods. They are in the streets inside the built-up area and there are clashes,» one resident told Reuters. Video on social media showed one tank in Al-Jneina neighbourhood.

Hamas' armed wing said it destroyed an Israeli troop carrier with an Al-Yassin 105 missile in the eastern Al-Salam neighbourhood, killing some crew members and wounding others. The Israel Defense Forces declined to comment.

UNRWA, the main United Nations aid agency in Gaza, estimates some 450,000 people have fled Rafah since May 6. «People face constant exhaustion, hunger and fear. Nowhere is safe,» the agency said on X.

Meanwhile, mediator Qatar said Israel's operation in Rafah has set truce negotiations with Hamas «backward», adding that talks have reached «almost a stalemate».

«Especially in the past few weeks, we have seen some momentum building but unfortunately things didn't move in the right direction and right now we are on a status of almost a stalemate,» Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told the Qatar Economic Forum.