Chilling vid shows DOZENS of Israeli tanks & bulldozers from ‘Iron Tracks’ unit in dead of night ready for Rafah blitz | 9AL0319

Chilling vid shows DOZENS of Israeli tanks & bulldozers from 'Iron Tracks' unit in dead of night ready for Rafah blitz | 9AL0319 | 2024-05-11 19:08:01

CHILLING footage shows dozens of Israeli tanks and bulldozers amassed at the Rafah border in the middle of the night.

The video shows military vehicles including from the "Iron Tracks" and "Givati" units, crossing the border fence as Israeli forces continue to push through Rafah.

Chilling vid shows DOZENS of Israeli tanks & bulldozers from 'Iron Tracks' unit in dead of night ready for Rafah blitz

Israeli troops are preparing to launch an assault on Rafah[/caption]

The footage, released by the IDF shows tanks, military vehicles and bulldozers in southwest Gaza on Monday night as Israel continues its operations to blitz Rafah.

It comes after US President Joe Biden vowed to withhold weapons from Israel if its forces launch a major invasion of the southern Gaza city.

Biden, who said Israel has not produced a convincing plan to safeguard civilians in Rafah, issued his starkest warning yet against a full ground invasion.

"If they go into Rafah, I'm not supplying the weapons that have been used… to deal with the cities."

He added: "We're not gonna supply the weapons and the artillery shells that have been used."

He said "Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs. It's just wrong."

But clarified that the US would "continue to make sure Israel is secure".

He said the US would not be "walking away from Israel's security", but would be stepping away from supporting "Israel's ability to wage war in those areas".

In response, Israel called Biden's comments "very disappointing".

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The US, by far Israel's biggest supplier of weapons, on Wednesday axed a shipment of 3,500 heavy-duty bombs bound for Israel.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Biden administration had paused "one shipment of high payload munitions" amid fears over Israel's push to invade Rafah.

The city's mayor warned the enclave is on the "brink of a humanitarian catastrophe."

At least 1.4million – more than half of Gaza's population – are believed to be sheltering in the city that borders Egypt after fleeing the fighting from elsewhere in the bomb-blitzed enclave.

Tank and aerial strikes have continued to pummel Gaza with the IDF saying it's securing the Zeitoun neighbourhood starting with a series of intelligence-based aerial strikes on approximately 25 "terror targets".

Israeli forces have already eliminated several gunmen hiding out in Rafah after they stormed into the war zone on Tuesday.

On Wednesday Israeli troops discovered three "significant" tunnel shafts as they continue to search for hostages.

Tanks seized the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday in what Israel called a "limited" ground offensive.

The assault came after Israel rejected Hamas's ceasefire negotiation and vowed to wipe out the terror group despite warnings of mass civilian casualties.

Despite international efforts for a ceasefire, Israel has said an assault on Rafah is crucial to its goal of destroying Hamas.