Israeli tanks advance in western Rafah amid heavy fire

Army has moved towards Al Mawasi area, which is a designated humanitarian safe zone

An Israeli tank returns from the Gaza Strip. Israel has launched further attacks on southern and central areas of the besieged enclave. Reuters

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Israeli tanks have advanced in western parts of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, amid a barrage of air strikes and artillery fire that forced residents of a nearby designated safe zone to flee.

Posts on social media showed families leaving homes and tents in the coastal Al Mawasi area on Wednesday night. Dozens of people were killed or injured, the Wafa news agency reported.

The Israeli military denied launching strikes inside Al Mawasi, an area along the coast west of Rafah where it told people to go before launching a military offensive in Gaza's southernmost city in May.

Israel said its latest assault is aimed at wiping out the remaining Hamas combat units in Rafah. The military used explosives to destroy buildings in the centre of Rafah city as its forces pushed west.

More than one million Gazans were sheltering in the city, most of them displaced by bombardment and fighting in other areas after Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza in October.

Hundreds of thousands fled as Israeli forces advanced, most moving to Khan Younis, the city north of Rafah, and to Deir Al Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

The military said it was continuing “intelligence-based, targeted operations” in Rafah, and that troops found weapons and killed gunmen in close-range combat in the past day.

It said 10 Hamas fighters were killed in central Gaza, including one who took part in the October 7 attack on southern Israel that led to the war.

During the past 24 hours, Israeli jets hit 45 targets in Gaza, the military said. The strikes, including attacks on homes in Gaza city and Nuseirat in central Gaza, also killed civilians, Wafa reported.

It comes as Israel arrested at least 12 Palestinians, including a child and several former prisoners, in the occupied West Bank during raids on Thursday, the Palestinian Prisoner's Society said.

The group said the arrests were made in Hebron, Nablus, Salfit, Qalqilya and Jenin – where the raids are continuing.

Israeli forces have arrested 9,185 people in the West Bank since October 7, it added

Earlier in the day, Palestinian media reported that the Israeli military were destroyed buildings across Jenin, including in the refugee camp.

A Palestinian man was also shot when Israeli forces stormed Jenin and paramedics were reportedly prevented from reaching him. His condition remains unknown.

Videos on social media showed Israeli bulldozers pushing rubble and debris along destroyed roads.