The southern Gazan city of Rafah is under heavy bombardment after Israeli strikes killed dozens of people on Sunday
- Local officials said at least 16 people were killed overnight, with no confirmation from the health ministry yet
- Thousands of Palestinians are fleeing Rafah, where they had been sheltering because Israel designated it a "safe zone".
- Israel calls Sunday's air strike a "tragic mishap" but vows to continue the war against Hamas despite international condemnation
- The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting later on Tuesday to discuss Sunday's strike on Rafah
- Meanwhile Ireland, Norway and Spain will today formally recognise the state of Palestine.
The so-called Philadelphi Corridor, where the IDF says it operated overnight, is a narrow strip about 14km (8.6 miles) long which runs the length of Gaza's border with Egypt. It includes the Rafah crossing, which Israel seized from Hamas on 7 May.
The corridor is part of a wider, demilitarised zone agreed upon by Israel and Egypt when Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005. As part of the accord, Egypt was allowed to deploy a small number of border guards on its side to stop weapons smuggling and infiltrations.
Since 2007 though, Hamas has been in control of the Gaza side, digging tunnels and smuggling arms, with taxation on goods brought in that way becoming a major source of income. Egypt flooded and demolished many tunnels but some survived and new ones were dug. Israel says it has identified 50 tunnels crossing into Egypt.
Back in December 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had to take control of the border area, including the Philadelphi Corridor, to "ensure [its] demilitarisation". The IDF has now taken control of Zoroub Hill, the highest hill overlooking the Gaza-Egypt border, giving it effective control of a 9km stretch of the corridor.
Egypt has previously said it will not reopen its side of the Rafah crossing for aid until the Gazan side is handed back to the Palestinians. That is a prospect which now seems ever more distant.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has confirmed troops were deployed along the Philadelphi Corridor - the thin buffer zone which separates Gaza and Egypt - overnight.
Earlier, we reported witness reports that Israeli forces were now in control of 9km of the strategically important route.
In a statement on its Rafah operations, the IDF says it is "engaging with terrorists in close-quarters combat and locating terror tunnel shafts, weapons, and additional terrorist infrastructure in the area".
The Israel military also says it is "intensifying" operations in the central Gaza Strip and carrying out operations in northern Gaza.
THIS AND MORE UPDATES AT: Israel continues Rafah strikes after dozens killed in Sunday bombing - BBC News
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