Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that more troops would "enter Rafah" as military operations intensify in Gaza's far-southern city, in remarks issued by his office Thursday.
The operation "will continue as additional forces will enter" the Rafah area, Gallant said, claiming that "several tunnels in the area have been destroyed by our troops... this activity will intensify".
Israel's attack on Rafah has displaced some 600,000 people, a quarter of Gaza’s population, UN officials say. Another 100,000 civilians have fled parts of northern Gaza now that the Israeli military has restarted operations there.
The US military also said Thursday it expected around 500 tons of aid to enter Gaza in the coming days after an emergency pier was affixed to the shore in the war-ravaged territory.
The humanitarian assistance is being screened in Cyprus and loaded by truck. Once on land, it will "move quickly," being offloaded from the coast into Gaza within hours.
Escalation is also growing on the Lebanon-Israel front. Hezbollah has launched some of its biggest drone attacks on northern Israel in the past two days, as the Israeli military continues its airstrikes in Lebanese territory.