Israeli forces have taken control of a buffer zone along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, the country\u2019s military said on Wednesday, giving Israel effective authority over the Palestinian territory\u2019s entire land border. Israel also continued deadly raids on Rafah in southern Gaza despite an order from the International Court of Justice to end attacks on the city, where half of Gaza\u2019s 2.3 million people had previously taken refuge. In a televised briefing, chief military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces had gained \u201coperational\u201d control over the \u201cPhiladelphi Corridor\u201d, using the Israeli military\u2019s code name for the 14 km-long (9 mile) corridor along the Gaza Strip\u2019s only border with Egypt. \u201cThe Philadelphi Corridor served as an oxygen line for Hamas, which it regularly used to smuggle weapons into the area of the Gaza Strip,\u201d Hagari said. Hamas is the armed Palestinian group that governs the blockaded territory. Hagari did not spell out what \u201coperational\u201d control referred to but an Israeli military official earlier said there were Israeli \u201cboots on the ground\u201d along parts of the corridor. The border with Egypt along the southern edge was the Gaza Strip\u2019s only land border that Israel had not controlled directly. Earlier on Wednesday, Israel sent tanks on raids into Rafah. They had moved into the heart of Rafah for the first time on Tuesday despite an order from the top United Nations court to immediately halt the assault on the city. The World Court said Israel had not explained how it would keep evacuees from Rafah safe and provide food, water and medicine. Its ruling also called on Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release hostages taken from Israel on Oct. 7. Rafah residents said Israeli tanks had pushed into Tel Al-Sultan in the west and Yibna and near Shaboura in the centre before retreating towards a buffer zone on the border with Egypt, rather than staying put as they have in other offensives. \u201cWe received distress calls from residents in Tel Al-Sultan where drones targeted displaced citizens as they moved from areas where they were staying toward the safe areas,\u201d the deputy director of ambulance and emergency services in Rafah, Haitham al Hams, said. Palestinian health officials said 19 civilians had been killed in Israeli airstrikes and shelling across Gaza. Israel accuses Hamas fighters of hiding among civilians, something Gaza\u2019s ruling group denies. Health Minister Majed Abu Raman urged Washington to pressure Israel to open the Rafah crossing to aid, saying there was no indication that Israeli authorities would do so soon and that patients in besieged Gaza were dying for lack of treatment. In northern Gaza, Israeli forces shelled Gaza City neighbourhoods and moved deeper into Jabalia, where residents said large residential districts were destroyed. Malnutrition has become widespread in Gaza as aid deliveries have slowed to a trickle. The U.N., which has warned of famine, said on Wednesday the amount of humanitarian aid entering the enclave has dropped by two-thirds since Israel began its assault on the Rafah region this month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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