Israel pushes into central Rafah in southern Gaza offensive

The Israeli military has confirmed that its forces are operating in central parts of Rafah, with troops uncovering Hamas rocket launchers and tunnels. The ground assault into the city began on May 6, leading to an exodus of over 1 million Palestinians from the area. Despite this, US President Joe Biden has stated that Israel has not crossed the "red lines" of a full-fledged invasion. The Israeli military has established operational control over the border zone with Egypt and set up positions in parts of central Rafah, according to commercially available satellite imagery. However, it is yet to achieve its goal of bringing home the roughly 125 hostages held in Gaza.