Israeli military operations take place in eastern Rafah

Israeli military vehicles and tanks drove along the Rafah border carrying large Israeli flags. Earlier today, the Israeli army account on X, formerly Twitter, said the military began operations in eastern Rafah. Israel carried out strikes on Rafah overnight as it sought to put "pressure" on Hamas ahead of talks in Egypt on Tuesday aimed at sealing a truce proposal endorsed by Hamas. After having vowed for weeks to push into the southern border town, Israel called on Monday for Palestinians in eastern Rafah to evacuate ahead of a ground incursion. The Kuwaiti hospital reported on Tuesday in an updated toll that 11 people had been killed and dozens of others injured in Israeli strikes. Hamas said on Monday evening that it had informed mediators Egypt and Qatar of its "approval of their proposal regarding a ceasefire" in the seven-month-old war, prompting cheering crowds to take to the streets of Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said "Israel is continuing the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas in order to advance the release of our hostages and the other objectives of the war". Qatar said that it was sending a delegation to Cairo on Tuesday morning to resume negotiations in the "hope that the talks will culminate in reaching an agreement for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza strip". Subscribe to our channel: http://ow.ly/AVlW30n1OWH Subscribe to MEE Telegram channel to stay up to date: https://t.me/MiddleEastEye_TG Middle East Eye Website: https://middleeasteye.net Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@middleeasteye Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/MiddleEastEye Like us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/MiddleEastEye Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye