Gaza war: Israel takes control of Rafah crossing; aid groups warn of ‘catastrophe’ | Latest updates

Smoke rises following Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military seized control of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on Tuesday, May 7, and its tanks pushed into the southern Gazan town of Rafah after a night of airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave. The Israeli offensive took place as mediators struggled to secure a ceasefire agreement between Israel and its Hamas foes and as the conflict entered its eighth month.

The Palestinian militant group, Hamas, said late on Monday it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal but Israel said the terms did not meet its demands.

Watch: Israeli Tanks Enter Rafah, Gunfire, Drones Buzz Near Egypt Border As IDF Begins Ground Op | Watch

Israeli military enters Rafah: Latest updates

1. The Israeli 401st Brigade entered the Rafah crossing early Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said, taking “operational control” of the crucial crossing. It’s the main route for aid entering the besieged enclave and exit for those able to flee into Egypt.
2. The Israeli incursion overnight appeared to be short of the full-fledged offensive into Rafah that Israel has planned, and it was not immediately known if it would be expanded. President Joe Biden on Monday urgently warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against launching an offensive on the southern Gaza city, hiking pressure for a ceasefire.
3. The UN humanitarian aid agency said Israeli authorities have denied it access to the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt that is now in the control of the Israeli Defense Forces. “Rafah is in the crosshairs,” said Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at a regular briefing in Geneva. Aid groups say an attack would be catastrophic for the around 1.4 million Palestinians crammed into Rafah, most of whom fled Israel’s onslaught elsewhere in Gaza.
4. Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the UN humanitarian affairs office, warned that an assault on Rafah could break the fragile aid operation. He said all fuel entering Gaza comes through Rafah, and any disruption will halt humanitarian work. “It will plunge this crisis into unprecedented levels of need, including the very real possibility of a famine,” he said.
5. Hamas has published a copy of the ceasefire and hostage release proposal that the militant group said it had agreed to on Monday. The framework brought forward by Qatar and Egypt aims to bring a halt to seven months of war in Gaza.
6. However, it’s unclear if Israel will agree to the terms. The proposal outlines a phased release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza alongside the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from the entire enclave and ending with a “sustainable calm” or “permanent cessation of military and hostile operations.”
7. In the first, 42-day stage of the cease-fire, Hamas would release 33 hostages — including women, children, older adults and the ill — in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, and Israeli forces would partially withdraw from parts of Gaza. The parties would then negotiate the terms of the next stage, under which the remaining civilian men and soldiers would be released, while Israeli forces would withdraw from the rest of Gaza.
8. Thousands of Israelis rallied around the country on Monday night calling for an immediate deal to release the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip. The protests came as Israel’s War Cabinet voted to begin an operation on the city of Rafah, saying that a cease-fire proposal Hamas accepted earlier in the night was not in line with Israeli demands.
9. The Israeli military claimed it seized the crossing after receiving intelligence it was “being used for terrorist purposes.”
10. Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority, acknowledged the Israeli forces had seized the crossing and had closed the facility for the time being. He said strikes had targeted the area around it since Monday.

(With inputs from agencies)

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