Rafah battles intensify following aid delivery via pier

Heavy clashes and bombardment shook Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on Saturday, as the Israeli military announced the arrival of the first 310 pallets of humanitarian aid via a US-constructed pier.

Over ten days into what the Israeli military describes as a “limited” operation in Rafah, fighting has also reignited in northern Gaza between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants.

The Kuwaiti hospital reported that an overnight Israeli strike killed two people in a displacement camp in Rafah, with witnesses recounting heavy gunfire and shelling in the southeast of the city and jet bombings in the eastern areas.

According to AFP correspondents, witnesses, and medics, there were intense overnight battles in the Jabalia refugee camp in the north, following the Israeli army’s report of “perhaps the fiercest” violence in the town during the more than seven months of war.

In early January, Israel claimed it had dismantled Hamas’s command structure in northern Gaza. However, the army noted that the Palestinian group, which launched the ongoing conflict with an attack on October 7, “was in complete control here in Jabalia until we arrived a few days ago.”

The Israeli incursion into Rafah, despite widespread international opposition and ongoing mediation efforts for a truce, has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis, according to aid groups.

With key land crossings either closed or functioning at limited capacity due to the fighting, some relief supplies began entering Gaza through a temporary floating pier constructed by the United States. The 310 pallets marked the “first entry of humanitarian aid through the floating pier,” as stated by the Israeli army.

Over the coming days, approximately 500 tons of aid are expected to be delivered via the pier, according to US Central Command. However, UN agencies and humanitarian organizations warn that this maritime corridor, along with ongoing airdrops, cannot replace the efficiency of truck convoys into Gaza, where the United Nations has repeatedly warned of an impending famine.

**Rafah Operation Hampers Aid**

The European Union welcomed the first shipment from Cyprus to the Gaza pier but urged Israel to “expand deliveries by land and immediately open additional crossings.” Hamas emphasized that the floating pier “is not an alternative to opening all land crossings.”

The conflict began after Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,170 Israeli soldiers and civilians. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed at least 35,303 people, mostly civilians, according to local reports.

Of the 252 individuals taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 attack, 125 remain in Gaza, with 37 believed to be deceased. The Israeli army stated that troops recovered the bodies of three hostages late Thursday who had been “murdered” on October 7.

Amid aid shortages, the Israeli army reported that “dozens of Israeli civilians” set fire to a Gaza-bound aid truck in the West Bank on Thursday night, the second such incident in a week. Earlier, right-wing activists had ransacked at least seven aid trucks from Jordan near the Tarqumya crossing.

Aid groups reported that the Rafah incursion further impeded aid deliveries, with the crossing on the Egypt border—a vital humanitarian conduit—now shut. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has placed the responsibility on Egypt to reopen the crossing, while Egypt has accused Israel of shirking responsibility for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, noting that truck drivers and aid workers do not feel safe crossing through an Israeli checkpoint into Gaza.

**West Bank Commander Killed**

On Friday, 13 Western governments, traditionally supportive of Israel, urged it not to launch a large-scale Rafah offensive, warning of “catastrophic consequences” for civilians. The anticipated Israeli assault has caused nearly 640,000 of the 1.4 million people who had been sheltering in Rafah to flee to other areas, according to the UN humanitarian office.

Israel has vowed to defeat remaining Hamas forces in Rafah, describing it as the last stronghold of the Iran-backed group.

In northern Gaza’s Beit Lahia, witnesses reported air strikes near Kamal Adwan hospital on Saturday. The hospital director, Hussam Abu Safiya, told AFP on Friday that the facility was running low on medical supplies and fuel to power generators, having received only enough fuel for a few days.

The World Health Organization has reported no medical supplies entering Gaza since the Rafah operation began on May 6, calling the closure of the crossing a “difficult situation.”

On the diplomatic front, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is headed to the region for talks, meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Saturday and Israel’s Netanyahu on Sunday, according to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces killed a senior Palestinian militant in the occupied West Bank, where violence has also flared during the Gaza conflict. The Al-Quds Brigade, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad militant group, announced that local commander Islam Khamayseh was killed in an Israeli air strike on the Jenin refugee camp. The Israeli military stated that he was responsible for a series of attacks.