“Israeli” tanks advanced on a main road dividing the eastern and western halves of the southern border city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip – per Reuters.

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stated that it captured parts of the main highway in the Gaza Strip -Salah al-Din Road- when it first stormed eastern Rafah last Monday.

Now, the IOF’s tanks are pushing further into Rafah and into the zone that it previously forced its citizens to be evicted.

Also Read: Over 100,000 forced out of Rafah so far after “Israeli” incursion

Battles between Palestinian resistance -Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)- and the IOF flared after a period of relative calm, in attempts to thwart the IOF’s advances into the city that houses around 1.5 million displaced Palestinians.

In statements on their official Telegram channel, Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said it targeted an “Merkava” tank with the Al-Yassin 105 anti-armor missile in Abu Haloua area east of Rafah city, south of the Gaza Strip.

A “Merkava 4” tank was reported destroyed also using Al-Yassine 105 south of the Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza city – where fierce clashes between Hamas fighters and the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) also erupted.

An “Israeli” military site was also targeted with the short range “Rajoum” 114mm caliber rocket launcher – Hamas’ statement added.

An IOF Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) was destroyed with Al-Yassin 105 east of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip – in addition to two “Israeli” tanks in the same area.