By Paul P. Murphy, Abeer Salman and Andrew Raine, CNN
(CNN) — Israel’s attack in the southern Gaza city of Rafah has expanded from airstrikes to ground operations, new satellite images obtained by CNN from Planet Labs show.
The images, which bear a striking resemblance to the early stages of Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza last year, show the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are active outside of the immediate border crossing area between Egypt and Gaza, which Israel took control of on Monday evening.
The build-up comes despite intense international pressure on Israel not to move in on Rafah. On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden for the first time said he would halt some shipments of American weapons should Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu order a major invasion of the city.
These Israeli ground operations follow a series of airstrikes on Rafah that have completely destroyed several buildings in the past 24 hours, and killed at least four people, according to a local hospital. Satellite images suggest these strikes are continuing, with one picture showing smoke still rising from one location.
People could be seen running through the streets of Rafah in the aftermath of a strike on Wednesday in other footage obtained by CNN. Several carried children in their arms, some apparently bleeding and unconscious, towards Al Kuwaiti hospital.
Four people were killed and around two dozen injured by Israeli airstrikes in the Tal Al Sultan neighborhood in western Rafah on Wednesday, the hospital said.
CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment on the incident.
Tell-tale signs
Rafah has become the central focus of Israel’s war in Gaza, as Netanyahu faces growing pressure from the extreme wing of his coalition to launch a full-scale ground operation in the city to destroy Hamas, while the more moderate wing has urged him to prioritize securing a ceasefire-for-hostages deal.
In the satellite images, some areas in Rafah show the tell-tale signs of being razed by bulldozers and other heavy machinery – vehicle tracks and large swaths of disturbed earth.
The IDF said in a statement on Wednesday that it was conducting a “precise counterterrorism operation in specific areas of eastern Rafah,” which included “targeted raids.” It also claimed to have “eliminated terrorists and uncovered terrorist infrastructure, as well as underground shafts in several locations in the eastern Rafah area.”
The IDF has released footage of its 401st Brigade Combat team conducting “operational raids on suspicious buildings” near to where it said its soldiers had been fired on by Hamas militants.
CNN previously confirmed through hospital sources in Rafah that at least 35 people had died in Rafah since Monday evening, including seven women and nine children.
Northern Gaza is already experiencing a “full-blown famine” which is rapidly spreading across the strip, the World Food Programme warned over the weekend.
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