The Israeli newspaper Haaretz said, Tuesday evening, that the Israeli military operation in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, will focus on ending Hamas’s control over the Rafah crossing.

The newspaper explained that Israel intends to transfer responsibility for managing the Rafah crossing to a private American company after the end of the military operation, indicating that Israel pledged to limit the operation to the crossing.

Haaretz indicated that Israel pledged not to target the infrastructure at the Rafah crossing in order to continue its operation, noting that Washington made clear to Tel Aviv that it did not back down from its threat to reduce weapons supplies if it invaded deep into Rafah.

It added: "There is an Egyptian, Israeli and American agreement for an 'armed civilian body' to monitor the Rafah crossing after the end of the military operation."

Haaretz indicated that the members of the security company are former soldiers in special units in the US Army, and they specialize in guarding strategic sites in conflict zones in Africa, and they will examine the trucks and prevent Hamas from returning to the place.

For its part, the American website Axios said that Israeli forces took control of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza after taking control of the Palestinian side of the strategic site on Monday evening, according to Palestinian and Israeli officials.

The website quoted Israeli officials as saying that seizing the Rafah crossing would not have an impact on northern Gaza, which receives most of its aid from the Erez crossing on the northern border between Gaza and Israel, as this crossing was reopened last week for the first time since it was attacked by Hamas in October 7.

Israeli army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters on Tuesday that Israeli army forces took control of the Rafah crossing.

He added that special forces are conducting surveys in the area.

Shoshani said, "Israeli army forces took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing after intelligence information indicated that Hamas was using it for terrorist purposes."

He added that the Israeli army's ground forces continue their operations against Hamas activists and infrastructure in eastern Rafah.

The Rafah crossing was brought up during the phone call between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday before the IDF operation, Israeli and American officials told Axios.

Biden told Netanyahu that, given the closure of the Rafah crossing to the entry of aid, Israel must open the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza immediately.

American and Israeli officials said they expected the Kerem Shalom crossing to be opened on Wednesday and to process aid trucks coming from Egypt that were passing through the Rafah crossing.

The Israeli general in charge of the humanitarian situation in Gaza was supposed to travel to Washington this week, but he canceled his trip to be on the ground during the operation, two Israeli officials said.

One Israeli official said that the plan aims to reopen the Rafah crossing as soon as possible, after the Israeli army finishes “cleansing” the presence of Hamas in the region.