Israeli army expands ground offensive in Rafah

Israeli forces have reportedly extended their ground operations against Hamas to another neighbourhood of the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.

Troops were destroying “Hamas terrorist infrastructure” with the aim of creating a wider security zone, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on X on Saturday evening.

The army launched an offensive in another area of the city almost a fortnight ago.

According to the post, Israel also continued air strike on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) targets throughout Gaza:

“Dozens of terrorists were eliminated during the attacks,” it said.

The information could not initially be independently verified.

According to the Hamas-controlled health authority in Gaza, around 25 people had been killed in the past 24 hours.

The report, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians, also could not be independently confirmed.

Israeli military operations resumed in Gaza on March 18 after the sides failed to agree on an extension of a six-week ceasefire initiated in January.