TEL AVIV: Albeit agreeing to open the Rafah border, no humanitarian aid progressed as the Israeli air strikes continued in full flow in Gaza. It is reported that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant arrived at the border on Friday to instruct soldiers to wriggle into Gaza territory. As part of security measures, more tanks were also deployed by Israel near the Gaza Strip.

Israel destroyed more than 100 Hamas strongholds around Gaza in the last 24 hours. A highly powerful leader within the Hamas navy was also eliminated by Israel. Meanwhile, there was a missile attack on Israel from Yemen. Three cruise missiles and several drones were destroyed by the US warship Carney in the Red Sea. This offensive from Yemen has dragged direct participation from the US in the West Asian war. The US said they shot down the missiles that were heading straight to Israel.

Yemen's pro-Iranian Houthi rebels have taken responsibility for the attack. The Houthi rebels have been carrying out drone attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria for the last three days after the US openly announced their support for Israel in the war.

Israel meanwhile evacuated Kiryat Shmona, an Israel town with 20,000 people on the Lebanese border, as attacks by pro-Iranian Hezbollah escalated. On Friday, Israel also attacked a Hezbollah cell on this border.

Roads on the Gaza side of the Rafah Corridor have been destroyed by Israeli attacks. Trucks carrying essential supplies to Gaza were unable to leave yesterday due to ongoing maintenance. The first 20 trucks will be allowed to enter the war-torn region soon.

UN Secretary-General António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres visited the Egyptian border of the Rafah corridor on Friday. He said that discussions are ongoing to speed up the distribution of aid.

18 Palestinian Christians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the premises of the 1,600-year-old Greek Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrios in Gaza City. About 500 Palestinians were trapped in the church during the attack. In another case, the third oldest Christian church in the world has partially collapsed. The Israeli military acknowledged that a Hamas rocket had hit the command and control centre and damaged a nearby mosque.