Israeli forces intensify attacks across Gaza | News on the Israel-Palestine conflict

The Israeli military shelled Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip while intensifying its attacks in the north and center of the besieged Palestinian territory.

Residents said Israeli forces appeared to be trying to complete the capture of Rafah, the town on the southern edge of the enclave that has been the focus of heavy attacks since early May.

Tanks entered the west and north of the city after already capturing the east, south and center.

Israeli forces fired bombs from planes, tanks and ships off the coast, triggering a new wave of displacement from the city that had previously sheltered more than a million displaced people, forcing most of them to flee again.

Palestinian health officials said at least 12 Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli military strikes on Friday.

The Israeli military said on Friday that its forces were conducting “precise, intelligence-based” operations in the Rafah area, where troops were involved in close combat and discovered tunnels used by the Palestinian Hamas group.

Some Rafah residents said the pace of the Israeli attack had accelerated over the past two days, saying the sounds of explosions and gunfire had been almost continuous.

“Last night was one of the worst nights in western Rafah. Drones, planes, tanks and warships bombed the area. We feel that the occupation is trying to complete control of the city,” said Hatem, 45, who was reached by text message.

“The entire city of Rafah is an area of ​​Israeli military operations,” said Ahmed al-Sofi, the mayor of Rafah. “The city is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe and people are dying in their tents due to Israeli bombing.”

Palestinian and United Nations figures show that fewer than 100,000 people may remain in the far west of the city, which sheltered more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents before the Israeli offensive began in May.