Bharat Express

Rafah

Hamas announced Monday evening that it had told mediators Egypt and Qatar of its approval of their proposal regarding a ceasefire in the seven-month-old war

The military stated that messages to temporarily move to the humanitarian area will be conveyed through posters, SMS messages, phone calls, and media broadcasts in Arabic

The UN accused Israel of impeding humanitarian access to Gaza and warned of a devastating famine in the region

Blinken, whose meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem went longer than expected, declined to clarify the Israeli leader's position while emphasizing that the US would continue to express concerns

Netanyahu's remarks came as Hamas was considering the latest plan for a truce proposed in Cairo talks with United States, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators

The world has been appealing to the Israeli authorities for weeks to spare Rafah, but a ground operation there is on the immediate horizon

Israel sees recent negotiations in Tel Aviv as a last chance before a planned strike on Rafah, with progress made and Israel refusing to postpone a hostage swap

Israel has come under growing pressure, notably from its closest ally the United States, to refrain from sending troops into the southern Gaza city

Approximately 130 of the original 250 hostages taken by Hamas more than four months ago are still thought to be held in Gaza, however, Israel believes 29 of them have died

After rejecting Hamas's request for a truce last week, Israel launched a predawn raid in Rafah on Monday, freeing two hostages and killing about 100 Palestinians