The US stressed that this isn’t the full-scale ground assault that Israel has threatened to launch for weeks but instead aims to choke off arms and funds to Hamas.
ADVERTISEMENTIsrael has launched a military operation on Gaza’s southernmost city Rafah, seizing operational control of the border crossing that is a major route for humanitarian aid.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said seizing the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing was an "important step" toward dismantling Hamas' military and economic capabilities.
"The entrance to Rafah serves two main war goals: the return of our hostages and the elimination of Hamas. We have already proven in the previous release of the abductees, that military pressure on Hamas is a necessary condition for the return of our hostages," Netanyahu said.
Speaking in Washington DC, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby stressed that this isn't the full-scale ground assault that Israel has threatened to launch for weeks.
"What we've been told by our Israeli counterparts is that this operation last night was limited and designed to cut off Hamas' ability to smuggle weapons and funds into Gaza," he said.
There's been fierce international criticism towards Israel’s plans to move into Rafah to eliminate the Hamas battalions it says are based there.
More than 1.4 million Palestinians, over half of Gaza's population, have sought shelter in Rafah, displaced from elsewhere in the strip. The majority live in squalid tent camps with limited access to food, water and healthcare.
A senior Hamas official blasted Israel for seizing control of the border crossing.
"The Nazi occupation attack at the Rafah border crossing with the Arab Republic of Egypt, at dawn today, is a serious crime against a civilian facility protected by international law. It is a flagrant violation of all international norms and conventions," said Osama Hamdan.
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that a full-scale invasion of Rafah would create a "humanitarian nightmare."
Israel closed the Kerem Shalom border crossing last week after Hamas fired rockets towards it. With the Rafah crossing now blocked to trucks, the UN has said Gaza's two main aid arteries are now closed.
But the White House said earlier on Tuesday that the Israelis had said the Kerem Shalom crossing would be re-opened on Wednesday.