Israeli tanks have advanced towards end of a crowded neighborhood in the heart of Rafah on Wednesday during one of the most intense nights of shelling over southern Gaza City since Israel began its offensive there this month.
Israel's assault on Rafah on the southern edge of Gaza has caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee what had been a haven for half the enclave's 2.3 million population. Israel has also cut off major aid access routes to Gaza, prompting international warnings of mass casualties and starvation.
Israel says it has no choice but to attack the city to root out the last battalions of Hamas fighters it believes are hiding there. Its troops have been slowly moving towards the eastern outskirts of Rafah since the beginning of the month.
Local residents said the tanks took up new positions on Wednesday further west than before along the southern border fence with Egypt and were now stationed at the edge of the Yibna neighborhood in central Rafah. They had not yet entered the area as the battle was intense.
The armed wing of "Hamas" said it hit two armored vehicles near the border fence with anti-tank missiles.
Palestinian residents said Israeli drones fired on the suburb of Yibna and opened fire overnight on fishing boats on Rafah beach, causing some of them to catch fire.
There is no word from the Israeli military on Rafah. The Israeli army said it killed a number of fighters in targeted operations in Khan Younis, north of Rafah, and in the northern Gaza Strip, where its troops have returned.
Palestinian refugee relief agency UNRWA estimated as of Monday that more than 800,000 people have fled Rafah since Israel began attacking the city in early May, despite international pleas for restraint.