TNA Staff
The New Arab / January 10, 2026
The developments come as areas controlled by Israel in Gaza have increased over the past three weeks, from 53 percent to over 60 percent.
Israeli forces on Saturday killed a Palestinian east of Gaza’s Khan Younis, while reports in Israeli media said that the military was preparing to withdraw from some parts of Rafah.
Israeli forces opened fire in the southern Gaza Strip, resulting in the killing of the Palestinian, The New Arab’s Arabic-language sister site, Al-Araby al-Jadeed, reported.
The Israeli army also launched several airstrikes and shelling on other parts of the enclave, including east of Gaza City and parts of northern Gaza.
Reports added that an Israeli fighter jet launched an airstrike on Rafah, with army vehicles also opening fire.
The persistent attacks come as Gaza continues to grapple with brutal winter storms, which have torn away makeshift shelters for the displaced and left people suffering from illness.
The German Red Cross (GRC) issued a statement saying that conditions have worsened in recent weeks, with poor sanitation and living conditions putting children, the wounded, and the elderly at particular risk.
GRC President Hermann Grohe said there are still critical shortages of all supplies, including food, medical supplies, electricity and water, noting that the “required number of 600 trucks per day is not being met”.
Numerous rights groups have lambasted Israel for violating the October truce agreement by killing Palestinians on a near-daily basis and not fulfilling its aid obligations as outlined by the ceasefire terms.
The latest developments come as Israeli media on Friday said the army was preparing to withdraw from some parts of Rafah.
Unnamed Israeli security sources cited by Haaretz said that “clearing and levelling work has been carried out since December in areas located north and east of Rafah city”.
The outlet also reported the move comes as part of “the framework of field arrangements aimed at establishing a new city that can accommodate about 20,000 Palestinians who will be transferred from other areas in the Gaza Strip”.
However, the sources also noted that officials “have not yet instructed the army to actually withdraw from those areas”.
“No instructions were issued to move to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement reflecting a hesitation in the decision-making at the political level, despite military preparations on the ground,” the sources were quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces are also gradually expanding the so-called Yellow Line in Gaza and destroying remaining infrastructure.
Reports in local media state that Israeli bulldozers have been seen destroying buildings daily in areas near the Yellow Line.
According to Al-Araby al-Jadeed, citing data from the Gaza Centre for Human Rights, the areas controlled by Israel in Gaza have increased over the past three weeks, from 53 percent to over 60 percent.
Israeli chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, recently announced a “new security line” which he said represents an “advanced security border” for Israel inside Gaza, further raising concerns over Israel expanding the Yellow Line.
On Friday, the Director of the Civil Defence in Gaza, General Raed al-Dashan, confirmed that Israel’s continued ban on heavy machinery entering the Strip also means that 10,000 bodies are still under the rubble, unable to be retrieved.
In a press statement, he said that the Civil Defence has only been able to recover around 350 bodies, while thousands remain trapped under the debris. He added that Civil Defence crews have lost around 85 percent of its equipment and are currently operating at around five to seven percent of its pre-war capacity.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 71,000 Palestinians since October 2023 and has been determined to be a genocide by UN experts and leading rights groups, including Amnesty International.
