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Israel Gaza live updates: IDF says it controls Rafah crossing truce talks to resume - BBC News Israel Gaza live updates: IDF says it controls Rafah crossing truce talks to resume - BBC News
(32 minutes later)
As we've been reporting, the Israeli army confirmed they have "operational control" of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing. We can bring you more detail on their statement now. Yolande Knell
"The IDF began a precise counterterrorism operation in the eastern Rafah area. Following intelligence that indicated that the Rafah crossing in eastern Rafah was being used for terrorist purposes, IDF troops obtained operational control of the Gazan side of the crossing overnight (Monday)," the statement says. Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem
The military goes on to say that as a part of their operation, they "struck and eliminated Hamas terror targets in the Rafah area," and "approximately 20 terrorists have been eliminated and three operational tunnel shafts have been located". The BBC has not verified this information. The Israeli military has said they have taken operational control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing which is on the border with Egypt.
It adds that the IDF would continue to operate against Hamas in eastern Rafah and in the Rafah crossing area. We have witnesses in Rafah saying that there were flares lighting up the sky overnight. There was the constant sound of Israeli bombardments and the Israeli army says it has killed 20 - what it calls Hamas "terrorists" - and says it has found three tunnel shafts in that area around the crossing.
It is stressing at the moment that it is still a very limited and precise operation, that it’s not the full-scale ground offensive of Rafah which the world powers have been warning against because of the dire humanitarian consequences in the city that is so packed with Palestinians who fled the fighting elsewhere in Gaza.
All this going on adds to the diplomatic pressure. The Qataris have been mediators in the potential hostage deal, sending their team back to Cairo so they can talk again about a ceasefire.
It is very confusing because we had an Israeli official saying last night, quoted anonymously, this seems to be an Egyptian proposal that Hamas had accepted, it wasn’t meeting the Israeli requirements.
But then there were other officials coming out and saying, well this is actually very close to an Israeli proposal that was put forward at the end of last month, which the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken then described as being extraordinarily generous.
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