The Israeli army is carrying out “targeted strikes” in Rafah shortly before the expected ceasefire talks

The Israeli army announced on Monday evening the launch of “targeted strikes” in Rafah against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Israel’s wartime government approved a military operation in the southern Gaza city, hours after Hamas said it accepted a ceasefire offer from Egypt and Qatar.

An AFP correspondent reported heavy shelling in Rafah the night before talks on a cease-fire offer are expected on Tuesday, which include three steps: the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, the return of Palestinians displaced by the war and the exchange of hostages and prisoners with the aim of achieving a “permanent truce”.

Both a Palestinian security official and an Egyptian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that Israeli tanks had entered Rafah, coming just 200 meters from the Egyptian border.

An Egyptian official confirmed that the operation was apparently limited. He and Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV channel reported that Israeli officials had informed Egypt that the soldiers would be withdrawn after the operation was over.

The Israeli army has not made further comments.

On Monday, the Israeli army said it had ordered the evacuation of around 100,000 people from eastern Rafah ahead of an expected attack on the southern Gaza city.

On Sunday, four Israeli soldiers were killed when Hamas militants fired projectiles into southern Israel near the Rafah border crossing.

The White House on Monday continued to express concern to US ally Israel about the catastrophic consequences of a large-scale military operation in the densely populated areas of Rafah.

A truce would bring an end to the seven-month war in the Gaza Strip, but it is unclear whether it can be agreed upon. Israel stressed that the mediators’ cease-fire offer did not meet its “basic demands”.

More than a million people, fleeing the Israeli military offensive in other parts of the Gaza Strip, have crowded into tents and overcrowded apartments in Rafah. Israel says Rafah is Hamas’ last stronghold, but Israel’s closest ally the United States opposes a full-scale invasion of the city, which borders Egypt, unless Israel comes up with a “credible” plan to protect civilians in the city.

The war in the Gaza Strip has forced about 80% of the territory’s 2.3 million inhabitants from their homes, and extensive damage has been caused to apartments, hospitals, mosques and schools in several cities. According to the data of the Hamas-controlled Gaza health authorities, the death toll in the territory exceeds 34,500 people.

The war began on October 7, when “Hamas” carried out a massacre in the south of Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping another 250 people. Israel says the militants are still holding around 100 hostages, while more than 30 others have died in captivity.