Salame Muhammad Abu Ajaj †[16] Osama Gadallah †[17] Samer Ismail Khadr Abu Daqqa †[18] Osama Tabesh †[18] Ahmad Iyad Muhammad Farhat †[19] Ahmed Aish Salame al-Hashash †[20] Ahmed al-Dalu †[21]
In early May, as ceasefire negotiations stalled, Israel prepared for an operation and ordered the evacuation of eastern Rafah.[100][101] On 6 May, Hamas accepted a ceasefire deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar,[102][103] but Israel's war cabinet unanimously rejected it as "far from Israel's necessary demands", and indicated it would continue its operation.[104] Israel initially planned to launch a two division sweep across the city, but U.S. President Joe Biden considered a major attack into Rafah a "red line" that could not be crossed. This forced Israel to reduce the operation to capturing the border to seal off arms smuggling into Gaza, and rely on targeted raids into Rafah.[105]
After the rejection, Israel conducted airstrikes on Rafah, entered the edges of the city, and seized the Rafah crossing, closing it.[102][106][107] The IDF entered populated areas of the city on 14 May.[108] Israel stated that the operation would not stop unless Hamas was eliminated or hostages were released.[107] On 24 May, the International Court of Justice ordered an immediate halt to the offensive,[109] a position rejected by Israel. The humanitarian impact of Israeli operations has been high. Over 1 million Palestinians were evacuated to zones alleged to be unsafe and lacking in supplies.[101][110][99] Almost 210 Palestinians were killed and 280 injured by Israeli strikes.[e][improper synthesis?] Hospitals were in poor condition due to Israeli attacks and lack of supplies.[111][112] In addition, events relating to the offensive resulted in the temporary closures of the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.[113]
By late-August 2024, satellite imagery showed that almost 44 percent of all buildings in Rafah had been damaged or destroyed since the start of Israel's offensive on the city.[114] On September 1, 2024, the IDF recovered the bodies of six civilian hostages kidnapped during the Nova festival massacre from a tunnel in Rafah. Autopsies revealed that they had been killed from close range just a short while before their rescue.[115][95] On 17 October, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by IDF forces in Rafah.[116] On 19 January 2025, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect, and the IDF withdrew from some parts of Rafah.[117] On the night of 18 March 2025, Israel launched a surprise attack on the Gaza Strip, breaking the ceasefire.[118] Israeli troops resumed ground operations in Rafah on 20 March 2025.[119]
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^ abMednick, Sam; Federman, Josef; Mroue, Bassem (6 May 2024). "Hamas accepts Gaza cease-fire; Israel says it will continue talks but is conducting strikes in Rafah". apnews.com. AP News. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024. Hamas said Monday it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but Israel said the deal did not meet its core demands and it was pushing ahead with an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Still, Israel said it would continue negotiations.
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