Hamas fires rockets toward Tel Aviv from Rafah

Hamas fired a barrage of rockets into the Jewish State on Sunday, with about a dozen being fired from Rafah. Most of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome as alarms were sounded in Tel Aviv as well as other major cities.

This attack comes at a time when the IDF is increasing operations in Rafah and the surrounding area.

The Hamassholes took responsibility for the rocket barrage and claimed it was retaliation for "Zionist massacres against civilians," which ironically, is exactly what Hamas did on October 7 and continue to use civilians as human shields. But in spite of this, Israel faces growing international pressure to leave Rafah and give Hamas the win.

Israel tried to get the Gazan civilians to leave Rafah and the region in order to minimize civilian casualties, something foreign to Hamas.

Rafah, which borders Egypt, has historically been a crucial passageway for humanitarian aid. Israel's recent takeover of the Gaza side of the border has led to Egypt blocking the passage of additional aid.

Egypt is maintaining its stance of keeping the Rafah crossing closed until control of the Gaza side is returned to Palestinians. As a temporary solution, Egypt has agreed to reroute traffic through Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing, which is Gaza's primary cargo terminal. This decision followed a discussion between President Biden and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

Hundreds of aid trucks traveled through Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing over the weekend, but UN workers say they have had difficulty accessing the aid due to heavy fighting nearby.

The latest aid agreement coincides with damage sustained by a "floating pier" constructed on the Gaza coast by the U.S. Although the pier is still functional, four vessels used for stabilization became detached as a result of harsh weather conditions over the weekend.

Approximately $320 million was invested by the U.S. in the construction of the pier, serving as a channel for aid from the U.S. and various other nations. Despite facilitating the transfer of around 569 metric tons of aid to Gaza, the Pentagon verified that as of last week, none of this aid had reached Palestinians.

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