Israel's troops take control of Rafah border crossing in Gaza

Israeli forces took control of the Rafah border-crossing in Gaza on Tuesday morning ahead of a possible assault on the city.

It’s the first time Israel’s army has entered that part of Gaza since the war with Hamas, an Iran-backed militant group, began in October.

The development came a day after Israel told residents in parts of eastern Rafah to leave immediately and launched more airstrikes in some areas of the city. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said civilians will be allowed to move out before any ground attack.

Cease-fire talks between the two sides continue but remain stuck over Hamas’s demand that any pause in fighting is effectively permanent. Israel says the war can’t end — even if there’s a break for a weeks-long truce — until Hamas surrenders or is crushed as a military and governing organization.

Palestinian officials said all aid flows from Egypt into Gaza had stopped after the Israel Defense Forces took over the Rafah crossing.

The army has halted “the movement of people and aid completely,” the Hamas-run border authority said in a statement. Tanks drove through the area in the far south of the Gaza Strip and soldiers replaced Palestinian flags with Israeli ones.

The IDF said it acted “following intelligence that indicated the Rafah crossing was being used for terrorist purposes.”

Hamas called it a “dangerous escalation against a civilian facility protected by international law.”

The border is the main entry point for aid into Gaza. It’s closure follows the shutting of the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza on Sunday after Hamas rockets killed four Israeli solders there.

The US has been urging Israel for weeks to allow more food and other supplies in, with the United Nations saying parts of the territory are on the verge of famine.

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