Israeli forces have expanded their occupation of the city of Rafah in the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip and have almost completely taken control of the Philadelphia Corridor, a sensitive buffer zone on the border with Egypt.
Fighting erupted along the corridor earlier this week, leaving one Egyptian soldier dead and triggering the first serious crisis between Cairo and Tel Aviv.
Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud reported that Israeli occupation forces advancing into Rafah are being supported with airstrikes and heavy artillery fire.
The ground offensive in Rafah, where more than one million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, began at the end of the first week of May.
The ground invasion, which had been fearfully awaited for months, forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee to the north and the Al Mevasi region on the Mediterranean coast.
Al Jazeera correspondents also reported that recent attacks have left all but one of the field hospitals in Rafah unable to function.
Israeli Army confirms loot trap
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Israeli occupation forces were advancing west of Rafah with five brigades and that unmanned ground vehicles may have been used in the attack.
The ISW also said heavy gunfire was heard in Rafah city center and that Palestinian rebels had blown up a building housing Israeli soldiers, which it added contained explosives.
The Israeli army confirmed in a statement today that three soldiers were killed in a booby trap in Rafah.
According to official statements, the dead soldier was from the Nahal Brigade, while three other soldiers were seriously injured in the explosion.
Hezbollah releases new video
Hezbollah, which is currently clashing with Israeli occupation forces on the Lebanese border, shared footage of a close-range attack on an Israeli military base in Ramieh.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television station reported that guided missiles and artillery shells were used in the attack.
