A day after the order to evacuate some parts of Rafah, the Israeli army said on Tuesday, May 18 (May 18) that its forces have gained control over the Gaza side of the Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt, and in the area Continued Israeli airstrikes have begun.

This Israeli operation comes a few weeks after Israeli officials said that an attack on Rafah is necessary to defeat Hamas.

The United States, the United Nations and other parties have warned that an attack on the densely populated city of Rafah could create a humanitarian disaster.

EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell warned on Tuesday that “there are no safe zones left in Gaza.” “I am afraid that this will lead to an increase in civilian casualties once again,” he told reporters.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian referred to the “widespread demand of the international community”. The spokesman said China urged Israel to stop attacks in Gaza and instead “do everything to prevent a more serious humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on social networks that Israel’s action in Rafah is to achieve Israel’s main goals, including the release of hostages by Hamas and the defeat of this group.

The latest actions in Rafah came after Hamas announced that it had accepted a ceasefire proposal from Egyptian and Qatari negotiators.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Monday that the ceasefire proposal was “far from Israel’s demands”, but added that Israel would send negotiators to Cairo to continue talks.

Last week, talks of a cease-fire intensified after US Secretary of State Anthony Blanken visited the region. Blanken called on Hamas to accept Israel’s peace offer.

Israeli officials have told the media that the plan accepted by Hamas is not what Israel agreed to. It is not clear what has changed in the ceasefire proposal that Hamas is willing to accept but Israel is not accepting.

The US State Department and the White House said they were reviewing Hamas’ response.

The ceasefire talks do not affect Israel’s plans to move towards Rafah. Netanyahu said last week that the Rafah operation will be carried out whether or not there is a ceasefire.

Netanyahu’s office said Monday that Israel’s war cabinet “unanimously decided that Israel will continue the Rafah operation to increase military pressure on Hamas so that we can achieve the release of hostages and other war objectives.” “

The United States on Monday asked all parties to agree on the release of hostages by Hamas in Gaza and a temporary ceasefire.

White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby said: “We want the hostages to be released… We want a six-week ceasefire. We want to increase humanitarian aid and we don’t want anything to jeopardize that process.” Despite this, as we said before, we still believe that reaching an agreement is the best outcome not only for the hostages, but for the Palestinian people.”

US President Joe Biden, in a phone conversation with Netanyahu on Monday, reiterated the US position that the Rafah operation should include a plan to protect Palestinian civilians. A statement from the White House said that Netanyahu had agreed to “open the Karim Shalom Road to deliver aid to those in need.”

At the White House, Biden also hosted the King of Jordan on Monday, and the two leaders discussed the situation in Gaza.

According to the World Health Organization, about 1.2 million people from other parts of the Gaza Strip have taken refuge in Rafah during the Israeli army’s war against Hamas.

In a statement on Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned about signs that a large-scale military operation may be taking place in Rafah. We are already seeing the movement of people – many are in dire humanitarian conditions and are frequently displaced.”

Guterres called on Israel and Hamas to “take serious steps to implement an agreement.”

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on the X social network on Monday: “A massive military invasion of Rafah will bring the crisis and humanitarian needs to an unprecedented level. A ceasefire is urgently needed for the sake of humanity.”

The UN aid agency for Palestine said on social media on Monday that Israel’s operation in Rafah would cause “massive civilian suffering and death” and have “devastating” consequences for more than a million people.

The war in Gaza began after Hamas militants launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, which killed 1,170 mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures.

According to the Health Ministry of Hamas, 34,789 people have been killed so far in the Israeli retaliatory operation in Gaza, most of them women and children.