The occupation army announced the outbreak of violent clashes in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, resulting in two of its soldiers being wounded with minor injuries, and the confrontations led to the martyrdom of several Palestinian fighters, a serious field development that observers consider a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement in force, putting the diplomatic efforts aimed at calming the situation at risk against the dangers of returning to a phase of full escalation.
Details of the field confrontation in west Rafah
The details of the event go back to the "observers" of the occupation army spotting a group of militants in the area west of Rafah, near the forces deployed in the southern part of the Strip.
Immediately after the spotting operation, the occupation pushed reinforcements from tanks to the site, where fire was opened towards the group, leading to an intense exchange of bombardment, in which the warplanes participated by launching air strikes on targets in the area to secure the ground forces engaged.
According to the official narrative from the occupation forces, the Palestinian fighters initiated targeting one of the tanks, which was followed by direct clashes that have so far resulted in targeting seven fighters from the Hamas movement, as reported by "Israel Today" newspaper, while the spokesperson for the occupation army confirmed that the field operations are still ongoing, as the forces conduct extensive scanning and sweeping operations to search for others who might be part of the spotted group.
These developments come at a very sensitive time, as there is supposed to be adherence to the ceasefire understandings that were reached through international mediation.
Occupation army officials considered what happened as a "blatant violation" of the agreement, which means the possibility of changing the rules of engagement in the next phase.
Analyses indicate that Rafah has become the front line of the conflict due to the geographical sensitivity of its location and the concentration of forces in it.
In the meantime, the United States is making efforts to contain the situation and prevent the conditions from exploding again, as officials in Washington continue to communicate with the concerned parties to avoid the collapse of the fragile truce.
Observers believe that the continuation of such frictions reflects the difficulty of complete field control in the absence of a comprehensive political solution that ensures long-term calm.
