Gaza war: Israeli tanks advance into Rafah’s centre despite global outcry

Israeli tanks advanced to the centre of Rafah for the first time on Tuesday, witnesses said, three weeks into a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city that has stirred global condemnation for its continued civilian toll.

Tanks and armoured vehicles mounted with machineguns were spotted near Al-Awda mosque, a central Rafah landmark, witnesses told Reuters. The Israeli military said its forces continued to operate in the Rafah area, without commenting on reported advances into the city centre.

Overnight, its forces battered the city with air strikes and tank fire, residents said, pressing the offensive despite an international outcry over an attack on Sunday that sparked a massive blaze in a tent camp, killing at least 45 Palestinians, more than half of them children, women and the elderly.

Sunday evening’s camp strike, which Gaza doctors said also left hundreds of civilians with shrapnel and burn wounds, drew condemnation from world leaders and was set to be discussed at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

Global leaders voiced horror at the fire in a designated “humanitarian zone” where families uprooted by fighting elsewhere in Gaza had sought shelter, and urged the implementation of a World Court order for a halt to Israel’s assault.

In another move purportedly aimed at reining in the violence, Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognised a Palestinian state on Tuesday.