Israeli tanks, under cover of heavy fire from air and ground, pushed further into Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, residents and Hamas media said, while tanks and troops crossed a key highway on the outskirts of Rafah in the south.In Jabalia, tanks were trying to advance towards the heart of the camp, the biggest of Gaza'seight historic refugee camps, Reuters reported Monday.Residents said tank shells were landing at the center of the camp and that air strikes had destroyed clusters of houses.Residents and medics said several people were killed and wounded in a series of air strikes on the camp overnight.
Medics said they have been unable to send teams to some of the bombed areas because of the intensity of the Israeli bombardment but they have reports of fatalities.In Rafah, near the border with Egypt, Israel stepped up aerial and ground bombardments on the eastern areas of the city, killing people in an airstrike on a house in the Brazil neighborhood.Residents said Israeli tanks have cut off the Salahuddin Road that bisects the eastern part of the city, while the eastern part of Rafah remained a &ghost town&.Intense fighting was reported and Israeli forces and tanks were seen in the southeast area of Rafah, residents said.Hamas& armed wing said its fighters were engaged in gun battles with Israeli forces in one of the streets east of Rafah, and in the east of Jabalia.In Israel, the military sounded sirens several times in areas near Gaza, warning of potential Palestinian cross-border rocket and or mortar launches.The post Israeli forces step up attacks on Jabalia camp and Rafah in Gaza first appeared on Ariana News.