RAFAH (AP) – Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in an ambush by an explosive device in Rafah, the military and media reported, as the Israeli national security adviser said that the war against Hamas militants would likely last through the end of the year. 

Three other soldiers were wounded in the blast Tuesday, media reported. The military says at least 290 soldiers have been killed since the ground operation in Gaza began in October.

Israel’s military said Wednesday it has seized control of a narrow corridor that runs along the entire length of Gaza’s border with Egypt, without elaborating.

Israel has said it is carrying out limited operations in eastern Rafah along the Gaza-Egypt border. Palestinians in Rafah reported heavy fighting Wednesday. The United States and other allies of Israel have warned against a full-fledged offensive in the city, warning of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Fighting in Rafah has already spurred more than 1 million Palestinians to flee, most of whom had already been displaced in the war between Israel and Hamas. They now seek refuge in makeshift tent camps and other war-ravaged areas, where they lack shelter, food, water and other essentials for survival, the UN says. 

Israeli bombardments and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians. 

Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250. Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more. 

ISRAEL SAYS ITS FORCES HAVE SEIZED CONTROL OF GAZA’S ENTIRE BORDER WITH EGYPT

Israel’s military said Wednesday it has seized control of a strategic corridor that runs along the length of Gaza’s border with Egypt. The military had no further immediate details.

Known as the Philadelphi Corridor, the narrow strip is about 100 metres (yards) wide in parts and runs the 14-kilometre (8.6-mile) length of the Gaza side of the border with Egypt. It includes the Rafah crossing into Egypt.

Smuggling tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip have been dug under the area.

The corridor is part of a larger demilitarized zone along both sides of the entire Israel-Egypt border.

Under the Egyptian-Israeli peace accord, each side is allowed to deploy only a tiny number of troops or border guards in the zone. At the time of the accord, Israeli troops controlled Gaza, until Israel withdrew its forces and settlers in 2005. Hamas has had free rein of the border since its 2007 takeover.

ISRAELI FORCES BEAR RESPONSIBILITY FOR DEADLY TENT CAMP FIRE IN RAFAH, SAYS PALESTINIAN HEALTH MINISTER: ‘THEY PULLED THE TRIGGER’

GENEVA — The Palestinian health minister said Wednesday that Israeli forces should not have launched airstrikes that set fire to a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians and insisted that no matter the exact cause of dozens of deaths there, “they pulled the trigger” in a military operation.

Israel’s military has suggested the airstrikes sparked a secondary explosion, possibly from Palestinian militants’ weapons, and caused the huge fire that swept through the tents. Gaza health officials say 45 people were killed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the fire resulted from a “tragic mishap.”

Dr. Maged Abu Ramadan said Israeli forces never should never have attacked the zone around the tent camp.

“They know that this is an area for civilians. It was designated by the IDF itself,” he said, using an acronym for the Israeli military. “It is simple. Whatever the cause, whether it was their bomb or it was something else. It is therefore they triggered — they pulled the trigger.”

Abu Ramadan also cited press reports about the types of weapons used by Israeli forces, insisting that no matter the size of the bombs, “killing is killing.”

He said Israel has not offered Palestinian authorities any indication about when a critical border crossing at Rafah could be reopened to allow badly needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the evacuation of wounded and ill patients.

He called on the United States to “press hard” to get Israel to reopen the crossing. Israeli troops seized the Rafah border crossing three weeks ago, and all land crossings are now entirely controlled by Israel.

Abu Ramadan is the minister of health for the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the World Health Organization’s annual assembly in Geneva.