Oh, Hell

It's not certain, but it appears that the Israeli assault on Rafah has begun.

At the very least, troops have moved into key positions seizing control of the crossings to Egypt:

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that its tanks had entered Rafah in southern Gaza and had seized control of the city’s critical border crossing with Egypt in what it called a limited operation to eliminate Hamas fighters and infrastructure that had been used to attack and kill four Israeli soldiers on Sunday.

The incursion did not appear to be the long-anticipated full-scale invasion of Rafah, a city crowded with about a million Palestinians, which Israel’s allies have been working to avert by pushing for a cease-fire deal.

………

The Israeli military said it had killed about 20 people in Rafah, describing the dead as Hamas militants.

Hamas said it had fired on Israeli soldiers on Tuesday at another vital aid crossing, near Kerem Shalom, along Gaza’s southern border with Israel. The Israeli military said that four mortar shells and two rockets had been launched toward Kerem Shalom from Rafah but that no injuries or damage were reported.

………

The Israeli drive into Rafah came after a dizzying day on Monday, when the Israeli military ordered about 110,000 people to evacuate parts of the city; Hamas said it had accepted a revised cease-fire proposal; and Israel said it was carrying out “targeted strikes” in eastern Rafah.

………

Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said he visited troops near Rafah and that the operation there would continue until the last Hamas brigade in the city was destroyed “or until the return of the first hostage to Israel.”

I have no idea where this is going, but I don't think that its going to be good for anyone.