(FeaturedHeadlines.com) Israeli tanks seized control of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt as the country launched its ground invasion of Rafah, which it believes is the last major stronghold of Hamas.
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the possibility of a ceasefire, the Israeli military captured all the major border crossings of Rafah, including those used for sending humanitarian aid and crossing into Egypt.
This latest round of military assault came just hours after the country rejected a peace deal accepted by Hamas and negotiated by Egypt and Qatar. Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets to celebrate the ceasefire after the Hamas announcement. Many of them set off fireworks and danced around prematurely, but their hopes were shattered when Israel launched an intense round of aerial bombardments on Rafah the same night.
According to the Israeli government, the country is not in a position to accept a weak peace deal that would eventually portray Israel as the loser of the war. Netanyahu’s office also stated that the primary purpose of the Rafah invasion is to force Hamas to release the hostages and speed up the remaining war objectives.
Sources close to the Israeli government claimed that the Israeli public was increasingly frustrated and wanted their leadership to either invade Rafah or strike a peace deal immediately.
Many countries, including the United States, forced Israel not to invade Rafah, claiming that this invasion would result in an even more humanitarian crisis as the city is hosting displaced refugees from across the Gaza Strip.
As Israel continued its advancement, the United States has now suspended a weapon shipment to Israel.
Egypt, which was negotiating a peace deal between Hamas and Israel, also warned Israel against its ground invasion of Rafah, stating that it would result in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis due to the possibility of mass migration of the displaced people into Egypt.
Gaza health officials stated that more than 34,000 Palestinians have died due to Israel’s aggression since October 7.
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