Israel seizes last land aid lifeline of Gaza

An Israeli tank brigade took control of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and seized the last land route of viral aid for the people of Gaza.

One armoured vehicle from the Israeli 401st brigade can be seen that took pride of place at the crossing before surging forward and reducing the ‘I love Gaza’ structure to rubble.

The footage of the move went viral on social media, where other tanks can be seen arriving on the scene with Israeli flags.

UN relief programme in Palestine director Sam Rose termed the seizure of the Rafah crossing would be ‘devastating’ for Palestinians.

‘(The crossing) has been the lifeblood for the small amounts of goods that have been coming into Gaza since October’. There’s no ability for desalination plants to operate and provide safe water. There’s no electricity – it cuts off everything,’ Rose told Al Jazeera.

Sources in the Red Crescent organisation in Egypt said aid to Gaza had completely halted at Rafah this morning.

The brigade has reportedly killed approximately 20 people in the area since morning.

The development comes just hours after Israel roundly rejected a new ceasefire deal chalked by Egyptian and Qatari negotiators that Hamas said it had accepted.

The announcement sparked premature celebrations in Rafah yesterday with Palestinians took to the streets rejoicing news of a ceasefire deal.

However, Israel rejected the ceasefire stating that it as a ‘softened’ version of an Egyptian proposal, which included ‘far-reaching’ conclusions that they could not accept.

Late last night, Israel launched intense air strikes on Rafah dashing Palestinian hopes for an end to the war.