Gaza war: Israel defies World Court order, sends tanks into Rafah on raids amid ground offensive

Israeli tanks mounted raids across Rafah in defiance of the World Court for a second day on Wednesday, after Washington said the assault did not amount to a major ground operation in the southern Gazan city that US officials have warned Israel to avoid.

Israel sent its tanks into the heart of Rafah for the first time on Tuesday, despite an order from the International Court of Justice to end its attacks on the city, where many Palestinians had taken refuge from widespread bombardment.

The United States, Israel’s closest ally, reiterated its opposition to a major Israeli ground offensive in Rafah but said on Tuesday it did not believe such an operation was under way.

Rafah residents said on Wednesday that Israeli tanks had pushed into Tel Al-Sultan in western Rafah and Yibna and near Shaboura in the centre before retreating towards a buffer zone on the border with Egypt, in contrast with offensives elsewhere.

Israel’s military controlled three quarters of the buffer zone and aimed to control all of it to prevent Hamas smuggling in weapons, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said.

He expected fighting in Gaza to continue throughout 2024 at least, he said, signalling Israel was not ready to heed international calls to agree a ceasefire with the Hamas militants who run Gaza and exchange the hostages they hold for Palestinian prisoners.