JERUSALEM

The Israeli army on Tuesday announced sending another fighting brigade in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, to join five brigades already in the city, as the Israeli army expands its incursion.

According to the Israeli Army Radio, the army's infantry Bislamach Brigade entered Rafah on Monday, the sixth fighting brigade in Rafah.

The radio considered the announcement as an actual expansion of the Israeli army's operation in Rafah that was launched on May 6.

The dispatch of a new fighting brigade into Rafah comes despite an order by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday to immediately halt its offensive in the city crowded with displaced Palestinians.

Israel's current expansion of its incursion into Rafah makes the Israeli army close to fully in control of the border area between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, a demilitarized buffer zone running along the Gaza-Egypt border.

The Israeli army has so far seized control of almost two-thirds of the corridor area as it advances through heavy bombardment and shelling.

Israel continued its brutal offensive on Gaza despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

At least 36,050 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 81,000 others injured since October following an attack by Hamas.

More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar.