Israeli forces have taken control of the Rafah crossing amid an attack on the southern Palestinian city of Rafah in Gaza. Although Hamas agreed to the mediators’ proposal for a ceasefire, there was uncertainty about it. Al-Jazeera news

The presence of Israeli tanks has forced the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s main lifeline, to close, a Gaza border authority said.

The Israeli army, meanwhile, said it had seized the Rafah crossing after receiving intelligence that it was being used for “terrorist activities”. Israeli forces have gained ‘operational control’ of the Rafah crossing.

The Israeli military also said they killed 20 fighters here. In addition to destroying Hamas infrastructure in these areas, they also found ‘three operational shafts’.

Earlier on Monday, 12 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack in Rafah. Israel launched airstrikes in the southern Gaza city of Rafah hours after ordering Palestinian civilians to leave yesterday.

More than a million Palestinians from various parts of Gaza sought refuge in the Egyptian border town of Rafah to save their lives during the nearly seven-month war. When the Israeli forces started attacking there too, people are running away from Rafah to find other shelters to save their lives.