The Israeli military has taken control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing in the south of the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday, in an operation the Israeli leadership has promised will be "limited."
Rafah was the last city in the coastal territory that Israeli forces had not entered during its massive offensive since the October 7 attacks on southern Israel. Israel believes that weapons are entering the Gaza Strip via the border with Egypt.
US National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby said that Washington was assured in talks with Israeli representatives that it was an operation of "limited duration in size and scope and scale" aimed at disrupting the ability of the Palestinian militant organization Hamas to transport weapons across the Rafah border.
A private US security company is to take over the management of the Rafah border crossing after the end of the Israeli military operation, according to a report in Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The Israeli government did not wish to comment on the report when asked. In the US, Kirby said he knew nothing about it.
Israel has promised not to damage the facilities of the border crossing in order to ensure its continued operation, Haaretz said.
Israel has also reportedly said its sole aim is to ensure that Hamas no longer has any control over the border crossing, which would be a considerable setback as it would no longer be able to levy taxes on incoming goods.
Angry reaction to Israeli offensive
Hamas called Israel's storming of the Rafah border crossing a "dangerous escalation" against civilian facilities protected by international law.
It added in a statement that the military attack will exacerbate the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and will prevent the flow of much needed emergency relief aid to Gaza.
Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oncu Keceli slammed the Israeli operation in Rafah, posting on X it showed "that the Netanyahu government is not acting in good faith."
International concern over trapped civilians
A spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office, Ravina Shamdasani, commented that for civilians who have been ordered to evacuate there are no safe routes to the north and no safe havens with sufficient sanitary facilities and food supplies.
These are basic humanitarian requirements for evacuations, she said in Geneva.
"There are strong indications that this is being conducted in violation of international humanitarian law," she said.
"This morning is one of the darkest in this seven-months-long nightmare," said Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The Red Cross also said questions such as how to safely transport the city's disabled, elderly, and sick, and where such a large population can move and reside safely with basic needs met, remain unanswered.
Conflict continues elsewhere in Gaza
The military arm of the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, the al-Qassam Brigades, again attacked the Israeli border crossing Kerem Shalom with rockets on Tuesday.
The al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attacks, which triggered warning sirens in the area, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). There was initially no information on casualties.
On Sunday the al-Qassam Brigades attacked Kerem Shalom with around 10 rockets, killing four Israeli soldiers and injuring others.
Members of the al-Qassam Brigades also executed three Palestinians on Tuesday in the west of Rafah for allegedly collaborating with Israel.
Qatari delegation arrives in Cairo
Talks on a possible ceasefire in Gaza are meanwhile continuing in Cairo, and a Qatari delegation has arrived in the Egyptian capital, airport sources said.
On Monday Hamas said it had approved a proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza war put forward by mediators Egypt and Qatar.
Afterwards, Qatar said its delegation would head to Cairo to resume indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, hoping the talks would lead to an agreement for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
UN Secretary General António Guterres has called on Israel and Hamas to show "political courage" to reach an agreement.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the Israeli army would be prepared to make compromises in the event of an agreement on the release of hostages during the offensive in Rafah.
"But if this option is cancelled, we will continue and deepen the operation," Gallant said, according to his office on Tuesday evening.
"We are prepared to make compromises in order to get hostages back," said Gallant.
Attacks from Lebanon continue
The pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement said on Tuesday it had launched drone attacks at Israeli army targets in northern Israel.
Hezbollah said the attack was in support of the Palestinians in Gaza and had targeted "enemy officers and soldiers while they were in the courtyard of the Yiftah Barracks."
The Israeli army said a number of suspicious aerial objects were identified approaching Israeli territory and intercepted, and others which were not intercepted caused only light damage on the ground.