Israeli army continued its offensive on Rafah on Thursday, while Israel’s National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi stated that the conflict might continue until the end of the year.

“We anticipate another seven months of engagement to solidify our gains and accomplish our objective of dismantling Hamas’s power and military capabilities,” Hanegbi remarked.

Israel’s army said Wednesday it took control of a vital Gaza-Egypt corridor it suspects aided weapons smuggling as the ground offensive against Hamas in the border city of Rafah intensified.

A military spokesman said about 20 tunnels were found in the area of the corridor, a claim rejected by Egypt which accused Israel of using allegations of tunnels under the border as cover for its Rafah offensive.

Israel has not crossed the “red lines”

In besieged Rafah, witnesses reported escalated fighting with helicopters intensifying attacks, supported by artillery.

Hamas’s military wing said it was targeting Israeli troops with rockets.

Gaza’s civil defense said three bodies were recovered from a Khan Younes house after it was shelled.

In parallel to Gaza, the Israeli army deployed soldiers on Thursday in various towns in the occupied West Bank after a “ram car attack” which it said killed two young Israeli soldiers near Nablus.

The United States has been among the countries urging Israel to refrain from a full-scale Rafah offensive because of the risk to civilians.

However, the White House said Tuesday that so far it had not seen Israel cross President Joe Biden’s “red lines”.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Israel to quickly devise a post-war strategy for Gaza, stressing: “In the absence of a plan for the day after, there won’t be a day after.”

A steady stream of civilians has been fleeing Rafah, the new hotspot in the grueling war, many transporting belongings on their shoulders, in cars or on donkey-drawn carts.

The army said it had targeted a Hamas compound and killed two senior members of the group, and that it was investigating the strike.

Camp hit

Gaza civil defense agency official Mohammad al-Mughayyir said 21 more people were killed in a similar strike Tuesday “targeting the tents of displaced people” in western Rafah.

New fighting also hit other areas of the besieged Palestinian territory of 2.4 million people.

In the north, Israeli military vehicles unleashed intense gunfire east of Gaza City, an AFP reporter said, and residents reported strikes on Jabalia.

Israel at the heart of international courts

Nearly eight months into the deadliest Gaza war, Israel has faced ever louder opposition and cases before two Netherlands-based international courts.

At the UN Security Council, Algeria has presented a draft resolution that “demands an immediate ceasefire respected by all parties” and the release of all hostages.

Chinese ambassador Fu Cong expressed hope for a vote this week, as President Xi Jinping told visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi he was “deeply pained” by the situation in Gaza.

French UN ambassador Nicolas de Riviere said “it’s high time for this council to take action. This is a matter of life and death. This is a matter of emergency.”

With AFP