Gaza war: Israel confirms its forces are in central Rafah in expanding offensive

Earlier this week, Israeli troops also moved into Rafah’s western district of Tel al-Sultan, where heavy clashes with Hamas fighters have been reported by witnesses.

In its statement Friday, the military said its troops in central Rafah had uncovered Hamas rocket launchers and tunnels and dismantled a weapons storage city of the group. It did not specify where in central Rafah the operations were taking place, but previous statements and witness reports have pointed to raids in the Shaboura refugee camp and other sites near the city centre.

Israel has said an offensive in Rafah is vital to uprooting Hamas fighters in its military’s campaign to destroy the group after its October 7 attack on southern Israel.

Palestinians who fled the city have scattered around southern and central Gaza, most of them living in squalid tent camps. Up to around 300,000 people are believed to remain in the area, some of them still in the central urban parts of the city, a UN official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the press. Shaina Low, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council, a humanitarian group that operates in the area, said most have flocked to the rural area west of the city near the coast – an area that has seen deadly Israeli strikes and shelling the past week.