JERUSALEM

Ignoring the international warnings, the Israeli army said Friday that it is carrying out military operations in central Rafah in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

A military statement said that the Israeli army's 162nd Division continues operations based on intelligence in Rafah.

The army claimed that Commando Brigade forces operating in central Rafah alongside the Givati Brigade located rocket launchers, tunnel openings, and weapons belonging to Hamas.

The statement added that the forces demolished a Hamas weapons depot.

In addition, the army reported that it found military equipment, long-range rocket projectiles, and various combat materials, including RPG launchers, explosive devices, protective vests, and ammunition.

The army expanded its military offensive in Rafah despite an International Court of Justice order for Israel to halt its operations in the area.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,240 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 81,777 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly eight 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 (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio