Israel took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing. The border, closed because of Israeli tanks

The Israeli army announced on Tuesday morning that Israeli forces had taken control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which borders Egypt in southern Gaza, Reuters reports.

The information was confirmed by a spokesman for the Gaza customs authority who announced that the Rafah border crossing was closed on the Palestinian side due to the presence of Israeli tanks. Three humanitarian sources told Reuters that transit of humanitarian aid through the border crossing had been halted.

The Israeli military operation on Rafah began on Monday when Israel carried out airstrikes in the east of the city. Before the attack, he issued evacuation orders for 100,000 Palestinians from one part of the city, triggering an exodus of thousands.

The Israeli military announced late Monday that it was carrying out targeted strikes against Hamas in Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinian civilians are sheltering.

Health officials, quoted by The Guardian, said an attack that hit a house in Rafah on Monday night killed five Palestinians, including a child. In total, 22 people were killed in Monday’s attacks.

Shortly after Israel ordered the evacuation and began the attacks, the Palestinian group Hamas said it accepted a ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar. In response, an Israeli official said that Hamas had approved a “softened” Egyptian proposal that was not acceptable to Israel.

“This would appear to be a ploy to make Israel look like the party refusing an agreement,” said the Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

An Israeli military spokesman said Israel would continue to act in an “operational manner” in the Gaza Strip, despite Hamas announcing it had accepted a Gaza ceasefire, according to The Guardian.

Asked if the cease-fire notice changes anything, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel is “exploring every thing we hear,” referring to the cease-fire agreement.

Hagari added that Israeli officials are “examining every response in the most serious way and exhausting every possibility in terms of negotiations and the return of the hostages,” during a news conference.

But Hagari said Israel will continue to act in an operational manner as Israel has the right to defend itself.

“We are exploring every thing that we hear and we are exhausting the potential of negotiations to bring back the hostages and that is our main mission, to bring them home as quickly as possible, but in parallel, we continue to act in an operational manner in the Gaza Strip and we will continue to do so,” Hagari said.

Israel says that Rafah serves as a Hamas base where Israeli hostages could be held, and their operation will not be ready until they clear Hamas fighters from this city.