Rafah offensive

In early May, as ceasefire negotiations stalled, Israel prepared for an operation and ordered the evacuation of eastern Rafah . On 6 May, Hamas accepted a ceasefire deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar , but Israel's war cabinet unanimously rejected it as "far from Israel's necessary demands", and indicated it would continue its operation. 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. After the rejection, Israel conducted airstrikes on Rafah, entered the edges of the city, and seized the Rafah crossing , closing it. The IDF entered populated areas of the city on 14 May. Israel stated that the operation would not stop unless Hamas was eliminated or hostages were released. On 24 May, the International Court of Justice ordered an immediate halt to the offensive, 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. Almost 210 Palestinians were killed and 280 injured by Israeli strikes. Hospitals were in poor condition due to Israeli attacks and lack of supplies. 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 . 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. 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. On 17 October, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by IDF forces in Rafah. On 19 January 2025, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect, and the IDF withdrew from some parts of Rafah. On the night of 18 March 2025, Israel launched a surprise attack on the Gaza Strip, breaking the ceasefire. Israeli troops resumed ground operations in Rafah on 20 March 2025. The New York Times . The Times of Israel . "מפת שליטה עדכנית של כוחות צה"ל ברצועת עזה - 09.06.2025" [Current control map of IDF forces in the Gaza Strip - 09.06.2025.]. "Liberman accuses Netanyahu of arming ISIS-linked militias in Gaza; PM's office offers no denial" . "בצה"ל מעריכים: סינוואר עדיין בעזה; כ-950 אלף התפנו מרפיח Rafah" . The Times of Israel . The Times of Israel . The Times of Israel . The New York Times . The Times of Israel . The Times of Israel . The Times of Israel . 17 October 2024 . "IDF Deploys Fifth Brigade to Rafah as operation expands in southern city" . i24news.tv . Institute for the Study of War . The Times of Israel . The Times of Israel . The Times of Israel . The Times of Israel . The Times of Israel . "From Hamas prisoner to militia leader: The Palestinian collaborating with Israel" . 5 June 2025. The New York Times . 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. The New York Times . Institute for the Study of War . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).