Israel Vows to 'Intensify' Operations in Gaza’s Rafah

Palestinians who fled Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip arrive with their belongings to Khan Yunis on May 15, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians who fled Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip arrive with their belongings to Khan Yunis on May 15, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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Israel Vows to 'Intensify' Operations in Gaza’s Rafah

Palestinians who fled Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip arrive with their belongings to Khan Yunis on May 15, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians who fled Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip arrive with their belongings to Khan Yunis on May 15, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Israel vowed Thursday to "intensify" its ground offensive in Rafah, in defiance of global warnings over the fate of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians sheltering in Gaza's far-southern city.

According to AFP, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said "additional forces will enter" the Rafah area and "this activity will intensify".

"Hundreds of targets have already been struck and our forces are maneuvering in the area," Gallant said following a troop visit on Wednesday.

Israel's top ally the United States has joined other major powers in appealing for it to hold back from a full ground offensive against Hamas in Rafah, the last city in Gaza so far spared heavy urban fighting.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has countered that a ground assault on Rafah is vital to the army's mission of destroying Hamas to prevent any repetition of the October 7 attack that triggered the war.



Yemen's Houthis Say They Targeted Israel with Ballistic Missiles in Coordination with Iran

Protesters hold weapons, during a demonstration of predominantly Houthi supporters to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and to condemn US strikes in Yemen, in Sanaa, Yemen May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Adel Al Khader
Protesters hold weapons, during a demonstration of predominantly Houthi supporters to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and to condemn US strikes in Yemen, in Sanaa, Yemen May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Adel Al Khader
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Yemen's Houthis Say They Targeted Israel with Ballistic Missiles in Coordination with Iran

Protesters hold weapons, during a demonstration of predominantly Houthi supporters to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and to condemn US strikes in Yemen, in Sanaa, Yemen May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Adel Al Khader
Protesters hold weapons, during a demonstration of predominantly Houthi supporters to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and to condemn US strikes in Yemen, in Sanaa, Yemen May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Adel Al Khader

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Sunday that they targeted central Israel's Jaffa with several ballistic missiles in the last 24 hours in coordination with Iran, as Israel and Iran continued to exchange missile attacks.

The group has been launching attacks against Israel, most of which have been intercepted, in what they say is support for Palestinians in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war there.