Gaza: Failed peace talks lead to Rafah border seizure
Israeli forces seized control of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt after failed truce talks in Cairo a day earlier, reports Ahsarq Al-Awsat plus agencies.
The Israeli 401st brigade entered the Rafah crossing early on the 7th of May, moving forward with an offensive in the southern city. The Israeli military said it was taking “operational control” of the crucial crossing for both humanitarian aid and those who are able to flee to Egypt.
The Israeli military justified their seizure of the crossing by claiming that they had received intelligence that it was “being used for terrorist purposes,” though did not provide evidence to immediately support the assertion. It alleged that the area around the crossing had been used to launch a mortar attack that killed four Israeli troops and wounded others near the Keres Shalom Crossing.
The military also said that ground troops and air strikes had targeted suspected Hamas positions in Rafah.
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Footage released by the Israeli military showcased their tanks entering the crossing with Israeli Flags flying off the sides of the tanks as they seized the area.
A spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority, Wael Abu Omar stated that strikes had targeted the area around the Rafah crossing since the 6th. He acknowledged that Israeli forces had seized the crossing and had closed the facility for the time being.
This seizure came a day after peace talks were concluded in Cairo where Egyptian and Qatari mediators met with Hamas and Israeli leaders to negotiate a ceasefire from the 4th-5th of May.
READ: Egypt: Gaza peace talks at standstill
The Rafah border is the sole crossing point between Egypt and Palestine’s Gaza Strip. As Egypt struggle with increasing inflation and is struggling to raise foreign currency, its economy may not be able to support the potential overwhelming flow of migrants that could be pushed over from Rafah, where more than 1 million people have taken shelter against the backdrop of the war.
While negotiating the ceasefire, Hamas stated on the 6th that it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari mediated proposal, meanwhile, Israel insisted that the deal did not meet its core demands.
Israel’s conditions to reach a deal include that Hamas must free at least some of the around 130 hostages. An Israeli official singled on the 4th of May that its core position remains unchanged, stating that Israel would “under no circumstances” agree to a deal to end the war, under the context that Israel wants to dismantle Hamas for good.
Asharq Al-Awsat/ Agencies.
