Israeli army expands incursion in Rafah, seizes half of Gaza-Egypt border area

By Anadolu staff

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army on Wednesday expanded its incursion in Rafah city, southern Gaza Strip, amid heavy Israeli bombardment on the city's residential areas.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that the Israeli army also expanded its incursion in the Philadelphi Corridor area between Gaza and Egypt, as the Israeli forces reached the western part of the Yibna refugee camp in central Rafah.

The Philadelphi Corridor is a 14-kilometer (8.69-mile) long corridor which is guaranteed by the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty of 1979.

Under the new army's advancement in Rafah, the Israeli forces seize control of over half of the Philadelphi Corridor area adjacent to the Egyptian borders.

According to an Anadolu reporter, the Israeli army is currently stationed in the eastern and central areas of Rafah, and on the outskirts of the southern areas of Rafah.

The Israeli army began its ground offensive on Rafah on May 6. About 1.5 million displaced Palestinians had sought refuge there, with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees estimating more than 800,000 people have fled the city since the start of the Israeli attack.

Rafah's vital border crossing with Egypt has been closed since Israel seized the Gazan side when it began its Rafah invasion.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the enclave.

More than 35,600 Palestinians have been killed, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and nearly 79,900 others injured since last October following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered it to ensure that its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar