VIDEO Images of an imminent assault. An army of Israeli tanks mobilized near Rafah, despite Biden’s warnings

Israeli forces massed numerous tanks and other armored vehicles near the town of Rafah on Thursday, Hamas militants and locals said, a move that could signal that the onslaught promised by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is imminent.

Israeli tanks had occupied the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt since Tuesday, cutting off a vital aid route and forcing 80,000 people to flee the city this week, according to the UN.

Now, large numbers of armored vehicles are being mobilized on the outskirts of Rafah, as negotiations for a ceasefire continue in Cairo. Images published yesterday by the Times of Israel showed the army in readiness.

Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad said Thursday that their fighters struck Israeli forces on the eastern outskirts of Rafah, firing anti-tank rockets and mortars at their positions.

Residents in the east of the city, the only major urban area in Gaza not yet overrun by Israeli ground forces, reported the sound of explosions caused by fighting between Palestinian fighters and approaching Israeli troops.

Israel has repeatedly claimed it needs to attack Rafah to eliminate the thousands of Hamas fighters it says are there.

Amid Israeli preparations, however, Joe Biden warned that he would refuse to supply weapons to Israel if it launched a major invasion in Rafah.

In his harshest comments yet, the US president stepped up pressure on Israel to refrain from an all-out assault on the southern city, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have taken refuge, fleeing fighting in other areas of Gaza.

“I’ve made it clear that if they go into Rafah, I’m not going to supply them with weapons,” Biden said in an interview on CNN on Wednesday.

The United States is by far Israel’s largest arms supplier and has accelerated deliveries since the October 7 Hamas terror attacks that triggered Israel’s offensive in Gaza. Biden acknowledged that US bombs have killed Palestinian civilians in the seven-month offensive.

US officials said Wednesday that Washington had halted a shipment of bombs to Israel because of the risk to civilians in Gaza.

In response, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, said Thursday that the US decision to cut off some arms deliveries to Israel will significantly affect the country’s ability to neutralize Hamas, according to Israeli public radio.

Negotiations for an armistice

All this time, negotiations continued in Cairo for the ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza, with delegations from Hamas, Israel, the US, Egypt and Qatar present.

Citing a source familiar with the matter, Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera TV suggested Thursday morning that points of disagreement had been resolved and there were signs an agreement would be reached, without giving details.

But Izzat El-Reshiq, a member of Hamas’ political office in Qatar, said late Wednesday that the group would not go beyond the ceasefire proposal it accepted on Monday.

It would also involve the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian women and children held in Israel.

“Israel is not serious about reaching an agreement and is using the negotiations as a cover to invade Rafah and occupy the crossing,” Reshiq said.

CIA Director William Burns commuted between Cairo and Jerusalem, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, Israel said the three-stage truce proposal approved by Hamas was unacceptable because the terms had been watered down. He did not immediately respond to the Hamas statement.

The United States said on Tuesday that Hamas’ latest proposal could break an impasse in negotiations. Just hours before Hamas’ latest statement, Washington continued to say the two sides were not far from an agreement.

“A humanitarian catastrophe”

The UN, Gazans and humanitarian organizations have warned that an Israeli incursion into Rafah would lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.

Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip has killed 34,904 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to data presented by the Gaza Ministry of Health.

After fleeing fighting in the north, Palestinians huddled in tent camps and makeshift shelters in Rafah, enduring shortages of food, water and medicine.

Since Monday, 80,000 people have fled Rafah, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said in a post on X on Thursday.

“The balance of these families is unbearable. No place is safe,” UNRWA said.