UN urges Israel to reopen Rafah crossing

The UN Secretary-General has called on Israel to immediately reopen crossings into Gaza after it seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing just hours before.

Antonio Guterres urged Israel to “stop any escalation” and called the renewed military activity in Rafah disturbing and distressing.

The UN and aid organisations said that all land crossings into Gaza have been closed since Israel seized the crossing. The UN says just one day’s worth of fuel remains inside Gaza to power humanitarian assistance.

“The closure of both the Rafah and Karem Shalom crossings is especially damaging to an already dire humanitarian situation. They must be re-opened immediately,” Mr Guterres said.

“I urge the Government of Israel to stop any escalation, and engage constructively in the ongoing diplomatic talks.”

Shortly before Mr Guterres’ comments, a senior Israeli official briefed foreign media that today’s operation was just “the beginning” of the IDF’s mission to eliminate Hamas’ remaining battalions in Rafah.

It came as an Israeli official called a delegation heading to negotiations in Cairo as “mid-level”, after a ceasefire offer from Hamas was rejected on Monday.

“Were there a credible deal in the offing, the principals would be heading the delegation,” the official said.

Hamas’s armed wing said it fired rockets at Israeli troops the key Kerem Shalom crossing, which had already been shut.

03:08 PM BST

Today’s live blog is now closed

That’s all from our live blog today. Thanks for following along. As we close Israel is sending a mid-level delegation to assess whether Hamas can be persuaded to shift on its latest ceasefire offer. The current proposal accepted by Hamas, Israel has said, is unacceptable. Here is a summary of the day and where everything currently stands:

• Israeli tanks seized control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border this morning and closed the crossing to aid deliveries into the besieged territory. Israel launched the operation to seize the Rafah crossing with ceasefire negotiations on a knife-edge after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas’ acceptance of an Egyptian-Qatari deal last night.

• “This delegation is made up of mid-level envoys. Were there a credible deal in the offing, the principals would be heading the delegation,” a senior Israeli official says of the negotiating team dispatched to Cairo today, dampening hopes of an imminent hostage deal.

• Hamas’s armed wing said it fired rockets at Israeli troops this morning at the key Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza, which was already closed after previous rocket fire over the weekend.

• Israeli authorities have denied the UN access to the Rafah crossing, a spokesperson for the UN’s humanitarian agency OCHA, has confirmed. Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson, said there was only a one-day buffer of fuel to run humanitarian operations inside Gaza.

• The Israeli military capturing the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing this morning was a “serious escalation,” Hamas has said in a statement. “This crime, which comes immediately after Hamas’ announcement of its agreement to the mediators’ proposal, confirms [Israel’s] intention to disrupt mediation efforts to cease fire and release prisoners, for the personal interests of Netanyahu and his extremist government,” the statement read.

• EU ministers expressed mounting alarm on Tuesday over an Israeli military assault on Rafah in the Gaza Strip, with the bloc’s top diplomat warning it would cause “a lot of casualties”.

• The Prime Minister has said that he is still “deeply concerned” about Israel’s plan for a full military offensive in Rafah, just hours after Israeli troops ignored the warnings from allies and moved into part of the southernmost city.

• The US must “intervene immediately” to stop Israel from invading Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, The Palestinian Authority said.

• Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has said it was a mistake to have sent a negotiating team to Cairo today. “Sending the delegation to Cairo is a mistake and falls into the manipulative trap set by Hamas together with Qatar and Egypt. This is the time to press more and more on the neck of Yahya Sinwar and Hamas until they are destroyed,” he said in a statement.

• Israel has seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in order to cut of a ‘lifeline’ for Hamas, a senior official said on Tuesday. In a briefing with foreign press, Avi Hyman, a spokesperson for the National Public Diplomacy Directorate, said that Israel will no longer allow the crossing with Egypt to provide Hamas with supplies.

03:04 PM BST

Israel seizes Rafah crossing to cut Hamas ‘lifeline’

Israel has seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in order to cut of a ‘lifeline’ for Hamas, a senior official said on Tuesday.

In a briefing with foreign press, Avi Hyman, a spokesperson for the National Public Diplomacy Directorate, said that Israel will no longer allow the crossing with Egypt to provide Hamas with supplies.

“This is the beginning of our mission to take out the last four Hamas brigades in Rafah,” Mr Hyman said, dampening hopes of a hostage deal in the near future.

In a separate briefing government spokesman David Mencer claimed that Hamas has “cross-border underground smuggling tunnels” underneath the Rafah crossing infrastructure.

“These Hamas tunnels must be dealt with to shut off arms to the terrorists,” Mr Mencer said.

The UN and aid organisations said that all aid has been blocked into the besieged territory since Israel took over the Rafah crossing in the early hours of this morning. The crossing is also the only way out for medical evacuations.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today said that the UK is still “deeply concerned” over Israel’s plans for a full military incursion into Rafah.

02:41 PM BST

Israeli government briefing suggests no long-term ceasefire imminent

Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer has reiterated Israel’s unfaltering line that it will not withdraw from Gaza without destroying Hamas.

“We will not allow Hamas to remain standing at the end of this conflict. We simply will not allow Hamas to remain standing. That is one of the three war aims. The others are to get our hostages released and of course to ensure that Gaza never again can form a threat to us,” he said in a daily briefing.

“Hamas are simply trying to save their skins. This conflict could end this afternoon. This afternoon, before we here in Israel put our kids to bed, and the way it can end is quite simple: if Hamas lay down their arms and release the hostages. Anything else where Hamas remains in power is simply not an option for Israel. We refuse to live next to this terrorist entity anymore. We’ve come to the conclusion any end to this conflict that leaves Hamas standing is not an option.”

Israel dispatched what is reported to be a mid-level delegation to Cairo today to continue talks, but fears have grown that the overall progress has been dashed. On the other side, Hamas has maintained that it will not walk away with any other outcome than a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Negotiators will likely be working on bridging the gap for a temporary pause in fighting that broke down last night, reportedly over Israel not accepting that Hamas return the bodies of dead hostages in the first phase.

02:29 PM BST

Gazans in Rafah continue to evacuate following Israeli assault

02:26 PM BST

Smotrich says it was a mistake to send a negotiating team to Cairo

Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has said it was a mistake to have sent a negotiating team to Cairo today.

“Sending the delegation to Cairo is a mistake and falls into the manipulative trap set by Hamas together with Qatar and Egypt. This is the time to press more and more on the neck of Yahya Sinwar and Hamas until they are destroyed,” he said in a statement.

“You must not give in to international pressure and you must not stop until victory and the submission of the enemy. This is our war of independence and we must win it.”

02:24 PM BST

US must stop Rafah invasion, demand Palestinian leaders

The US must “intervene immediately” to stop Israel from invading Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, The Palestinian Authority said.

Nabil Abu Rudeina, the spokesman for the Palestinian Presidency, called the Israeli seizure of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing a “crime” and blasted the “unacceptable international silence”.

Israel ignored warnings from its close allies and moved into the southern city on Tuesday after its war cabinet rejected Hamas’ agreement of a ceasefire proposal, saying that it did not meet its core demands.

Abu Rudeina called the Israeli decision to enter Rafah a “dangerous escalation” and said that controlling the border crossings will only double the suffering of civilians.

Hamas also called on the US to pressure Israel into stopping the full assault on Rafah that was promised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli officials have said that the current offensive, which saw them halt all aid into the besieged territory, is only a limited operation.

01:43 PM BST

The UK ‘deeply concerned’ about a full military incursion into Rafah, Sunak says

The Prime Minister has said that he is still “deeply concerned” about Israel’s plan for a full military offensive in Rafah, just hours after Israeli troops ignored the warnings from allies and moved into part of the southernmost city.

On a visit to south-east London, the Prime Minister said: “We’ve been consistent in saying that we want to see an immediate humanitarian pause in this conflict so that we can crucially release the hostages, get them back to their families and get more aid in to Gaza, people desperately need it, and then use that pause to build a more lasting and sustainable ceasefire.”

He added: “When it comes to the question of Rafah, again I’ve been clear that we are deeply concerned about the full military incursion of Rafah, given the humanitarian consequences of that.

“I’ve made that point specifically to Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu whenever I’ve spoken to him.”

01:29 PM BST

Pictured: Pro-Palestine demonstrations near the Met Gala last night

01:26 PM BST

Hezbollah claims three attacks on Israel today

Hezbollah said it has targeted Israel three times today, claiming that it has caused military casualties and damage to Iron Dome equipment.

In the first attack, Hezbollah said that it launched drones “that targeted enemy officers and soldiers while they were inthe courtyard of the Yiftah barracks... leaving dead and wounded... At the same time, other aircraft targeted one of the Iron Dome platforms located south of the Ramot Naftali barracks and hit it directly, leading to its damage.”

In the second attack, Hezbollah said at 14:15pm (local time) it targeted “the spy equipment at the Al Samaqa site in the occupied Lebanese Kfarshouba hills with weapons.”

The IDF today said that several “suspicious aerial targets” were identified approaching Israeli territory. The IDF said it intercepted one of them, another fell in an open after in Yiftah and caused a fire; two fell in an open area; and the others fell and caused light damage – without referencing what they inflicted damage on.

The Israeli military said that no injuries had been reported.

01:00 PM BST

Prices in Rafah shoot up as future of aid deliveries uncertain

Food prices in Rafah have shot up amid the uncertainty of when aid will be allowed to enter Gaza again, after Israel closed the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings.

“There was not enough aid to go around before, now people are very worried,” Mohammad Najjar, a student in Rafah, told The Telegraph over the phone. “The price for a kilo of sugar two days ago was around $3, today it is $20.”

The UN earlier today warned that it only has one day worth of fuel inside Gaza to fuel humanitarian operations, after they were denied access to cross the border by the Israel authorities.

12:49 PM BST

Netanyahu must face consequences, says Jordanian foreign minister

12:08 PM BST

Israeli forces deployed to stop protestors demanding an acceptance of the hostage deal proposal from advancing

11:55 AM BST

Israel says it shot down drone coming from Iraq for second consecutive night

Israeli fighter jets intercepted a drone flying toward Israel from “the eastern direction,” the IDF said.

The military said that it was tracked until the moment of interception and did not enter Israeli airspace.

According to The Times of Israel, it was the second night in a row that a drone apparently launched from Iraq was shot down.

The pro-Iran umbrella group, Islamic Resistance in Iraq, said they had launched a drone at Israel overnight.

11:47 AM BST

Imminent ceasefire deal appears unlikely with Israel reported to be sending ‘mid-level’ delegation to talks

A team of mid-ranking Israeli officials will go to Cairo in the next few hours to assess whether Hamas can be persuaded to shift on its latest ceasefire offer, a senior Israeli official says, reiterating that the proposal as it currently stands was unacceptable to Israel.

“This delegation is made up of mid-level envoys. Were there a credible deal in the offing, the principals would be heading the delegation,” the official tells Reuters.

11:41 AM BST

EU voices alarm over Israel assault on Rafah

EU ministers expressed mounting alarm on Tuesday over an Israeli military assault on Rafah in the Gaza Strip, with the bloc’s top diplomat warning it would cause “a lot of casualties”.

Belgium’s development minister, Caroline Gennez, said an Israeli offensive on Rafah would cross a “red line” and said that “sanctions... have to be on the table” in response.

Speaking hours after Israel sent tanks into Rafah, she said an attack on the city “threatens millions with famine”.

“It is very clear that international law is no longer respected in Gaza,” she said.

Gennez also urged her European Union counterparts to unanimously agree on a decision to “stop exporting weapons to the Middle East, to Israel and the warfaring countries”.

Germany’s development minister, Jochen Flasbarth, said “the situation is dramatic and continues to worsen” in Gaza and called the humanitarian situation in the besieged Palestinian territory “appalling”.

But he said there would be no discussion of potential sanctions at Tuesday’s talks.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who was chairing the meeting of development ministers, warned “there is no safe zone in Gaza” for Palestinian civilians to flee to, noting that there were “600,000 children” in the densely populated enclave.

He stressed that the European Union and United States had all asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to not go ahead with his threatened assault on Rafah.

11:36 AM BST

‘Storming of Rafah is a serious escalation’: Hamas

The Israeli military capturing the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing this morning was a “serious escalation,” Hamas has said in a statement.

“This crime, which comes immediately after Hamas’ announcement of its agreement to the mediators’ proposal, confirms [Israel’s] intention to disrupt mediation efforts to cease fire and release prisoners, for the personal interests of Netanyahu and his extremist government,” the statement read.

“We call on the American administration and the international community to pressure [Israel] to stop this escalation,” it continued.

Israel has said that it was caught off-guard when Hamas accepted a proposal that was not on the table, although US officials and western diplomats have told several newspapers that it is unlikely Israel would have been kept in the dark by any major change in the proposal.

11:16 AM BST

Fears of a full ground invasion grip the west of Rafah

As the IDF came into Rafah overnight, fears that the limited operation in eastern Rafah that allowed them to take the border crossing could turn into the full-assault promised took over, Gazans said.

Speaking to the Telegraph over the phone from the west of Rafah, Mohammad Najjar, a student, said that the night was “very difficult.”

From east to west, Rafah is no wider than 15 kilometres (9 miles), he stressed, so the IDF are “very close” to where he is and everyone is “of course” worried about what might happen next. “Until this moment we can hear the bombing,” he said, following a night of artillery, drones and air strikes.

Israeli media is quoting officials as saying that this is a “limited operation” and not the full assault that Netanyahu promised.

10:53 AM BST

With Rafah crossing closed by Israel, UN warns it only has a one day buffer supply of fuel for Gaza

Israeli authorities have denied the UN access to the Rafah crossing, a spokesperson for the UN’s humanitarian agency OCHA, has confirmed.

Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson, said there was only a one-day buffer of fuel to run humanitarian operations inside Gaza.

“We currently do not have any physical presence at the Rafah crossing as our access... has been denied by COGAT,” he said, referring to the Israeli agency that oversees supplies into the Palestinian territories.

“We have been told there will be no crossings of personnel or goods in or out for the time being. That has a massive impact on how much stock do we have.

“There’s a very, very short buffer of one day of fuel available.

“As fuel only comes in through Rafah, the one day buffer is for the entire operation in Gaza.”

If no fuel comes in, “it would be a very effective way of putting the humanitarian operation in its grave”, said Laerke.

“Currently, the two main arteries for getting aid into Gaza are currently choked off,” he said, referring to the Rafah crossing from Egypt and the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel.

10:49 AM BST

Pictured: The displaced fled again yesterday ahead of Rafah ground offensive

10:46 AM BST

Egypt condemns Israeli control of Rafah border crossing

The Egyptian foreign ministry has released a statement condemning the Isreali offensive on Rafah and their move to control the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing.

“Egypt considers that this dangerous escalation threatens the lives of more than a million Palestinians who depend primarily on this crossing as it is the main lifeline of the Gaza Strip,” the statement read.

“The Arab Republic of Egypt calls on the Israeli side to exercise the utmost restraint, and to stay away from a policy of brinksmanship,” it continued, adding that it would threaten the fate of a truce.

“Egypt also calls on all influential international parties to intervene and exert the necessary pressure to defuse the current crisis and allow diplomatic efforts to achieve their desired results.”

10:35 AM BST

What’s in the three-phase ceasefire deal Hamas backs, but Israel does not?

Based on details announced so far by Hamas officials, a copy of the proposal and an official briefed on the talks, Reuters reports that the deal that the Palestinian group said it had agreed to included the following:

PHASE ONE

- 42-day ceasefire period - Hamas freeing 33 Israeli hostages, alive or dead, in return for Israel releasing 30 children and women for each released Israeli hostage, based on lists provided by Hamas according to the earliest date of detention.

- Starting from the first day of the ceasefire, the entry of intensive and sufficient quantities of humanitarian aid, relief materials, and fuel (600 trucks per day, including 50 fuel trucks, of which 300 are for the north), including the fuel necessary for operating the power plant, trade, and equipment needed for rubble removal, rehabilitation and operation of hospitals, health centres and bakeries in all areas of the Gaza Strip, and the continuation of this in all stages of the agreement.

- Hamas will release three Israeli hostages on the third day of the agreement, and then release three more hostages every seven days, prioritising women if possible, including civilians and conscripts.

- In the sixth week, Hamas will release all remaining civilian hostages covered by this phase. In exchange, Israel will release the agreed number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, according to the lists that will be provided by Hamas.

Israel partially withdraws troops from Gaza and allows the free movement of Palestinians from south to north Gaza.

- Cessation of military flights over the Gaza Strip will take place for 10 hours per day and 12 hours on the day of releasing the hostages and prisoners.

- On the third day after releasing the first Palestinian prisoners, the Israeli forces will completely withdraw from al-Rashid street in northern Gaza, and all military sites will be dismantled.

- On the 22nd day of the first phase, Israeli forces will withdraw from the centre of the strip, east of Salah al-Din road to an area near the Israeli border.

PHASE TWO

- Another 42-day period that features an agreement to restore a “sustainable calm” to Gaza, language that an official briefed on the talks said Hamas and Israel had agreed in order to take discussion of a “permanent ceasefire” off the table.

- The complete withdrawal of most Israeli troops from Gaza.

- Hamas releases Israeli reservists and some soldiers in return for Israel releasing Palestinians from jail.

PHASE THREE

- The completion of exchanging bodies and starting the implementation of reconstruction according to the plan overseen by Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations. - Ending the complete blockade on the Gaza Strip.

- Start of the implementation of a 3-5 year plan for reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, including homes, civilian facilities and infrastructure, and compensation for all those affected, under the supervision of a number of countries and organisations including Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.

10:28 AM BST

Israeli officials reportedly say Washington hid proposal presented to Hamas; US denies they were faced with any surprises

The US knew of the new proposal that was presented to Hamas in recent days, but did not inform Israel about the changes, Axios has reported, citing Israeli officials.

The report said that Israel was caught off-guard when it reviewed the proposal that Hamas accepted yesterday and has created suspicion among senior Israeli officials regarding the US role in the hostage talks.

A senior US official cited in the report denied that Israel was faced with any surprises and said that US diplomats have been engaged with their Israeli counterparts throughout the mediation.

10:17 AM BST

A view inside Rafah this morning

10:11 AM BST

IDF confirms Hezbollah killed two soldiers in drone attack yesterday

The IDF this morning confirmed Hezbollah’s claim that yesterday it killed two soldiers in a drone attack on Metula, northern Israel.

The Israeli military, according to The Times of Israel, said that it attempted and failed to the intercept the explosive-laden drone.

The two reserves soldiers were named as Master Sgt. Dan Kamkagi, 31, and Master Sgt. Nahman Natan Hertz, also 31.

The IDF said that another soldier was lightly injured in the attack.

09:45 AM BST

Hamas targets Israeli troops at Kerem Shalom crossing this morning

Hamas’s armed wing said it fired rockets at Israeli troops this morning at the key Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza, which was already closed after previous rocket fire over the weekend.

The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, which claimed a rocket attack on the crossing on Sunday that killed four Israeli soldiers, said in a statement that it had “targeted the gathering of enemy forces” at Kerem Shalom in the latest attack.

The IDF said that four mortars were launched from Rafah at Kerem Shalom a short while ago and that an earlier attack saw two rockets fired at the same area. In the first attack the IDF said that one rocket hit an open area and the second fell short in Gaza.

No casualties were reported.

09:39 AM BST

China urges Israel to ‘stop attacking Rafah’

China on Tuesday urged Israel to “stop attacking Rafah”, after the Israeli army said it took “operational control” of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

“China... strongly calls on Israel to heed the overwhelming demands of the international community, stop attacking Rafah, and do everything it can to avoid a more serious humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.

Israel carried out strikes on the Gazan city of Rafah overnight as it sought to put “pressure” on Hamas ahead of talks in Egypt on Tuesday aimed at sealing a truce proposal endorsed by the militants.

09:37 AM BST

Macklemore goes viral across the Middle East with new song for Palestine

American rapper Macklemore is going viral across much of the Middle East after he released a song overnight named ‘Hind’s Hall’ inspired by the pro-Palestine demonstrations taking place across US campuses.

“Once it’s up on streaming all proceeds to UNRWA,” the rapper said as he posted the video on X last night.

Former Egyptian political prisoner Abdelrahman ElGendy posted on X:

“Heartening to see childhood heroes take a clear stance. For years, I engraved Macklemore’s lyrics from ‘Wings’ on the walls of my prison cell in Egypt, and Wings was originally my memoir’s title for how much it moved me. Love the full circle. And great song, too.”

09:14 AM BST

Israeli tank bulldozes ‘I heart Gaza’ sign at Rafah crossing

09:13 AM BST

Gaza health ministry releases new casualty figures

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza has issued new casualty figures, putting the total death toll up to 34,789 and injuries to 78,204.

The figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Many other bodies are believed to still be trapped beneath the rubble are not included in the figures.

According to the health ministry spokesperson, the death toll rose by 54 people in the past 24 hours and 96 wounded.

Wafa, the Palestinian news agency, said that 21 Palestinian civilians – including women and children – were killed this morning across Gaza, the majority of them in Rafah.

09:01 AM BST

Israeli foreign minister welcomes IDF ground presence in Rafah; says Hamas would be ‘crushed’ by now if not for hostages

Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz has welcomed the IDF ground assault on Rafah this morning.

“If not for the hostages dear to our hearts, for whose release we are bound by a supreme obligation and we will do everything to bring them home, the Hamas gang would have long since been crushed and thrown into the dustbin of history,” he posted on X.

“The entry of the IDF into Rafah promotes the two main goals of the war: the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.

The work of persuasion on the political front is becoming more difficult - but I will do everything to meet the task and allow our heroic soldiers to complete the work.”

08:54 AM BST

Pictured: Iron Dome intecepts rockets fired from Gaza overnight as Rafah strikes intensified

08:46 AM BST

HRW finds Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed seven paramedics in ‘unlawful’ attack using US weapon

A report released today by Human Rights Watch has found that Israel used an American JDAM (joint direct attack munition) to strike an emergency centre in Lebanon in March that killed seven paramedics.

HRW says it found no evidence of a military target at the site, making it an unlawful attack on civilians as they called for the US and other allies to suspend arms to Israel.

An Islamic Group official – a Lebanese Islamist political party whose armed wing, the Fajr Forces, has been engaged in cross-border hostilities with Israel – said that while some Islamic Group supporters are volunteers in the Lebanese Succour Association (the relief organisation), they do not include any fighters from its armed wing.

HRW notes that just a week before the strike Israel reportedly submitted written assurances to the US State Department that US-provided weapons were not being used in violation of international law.

08:39 AM BST

Interrupting the aid supply will make ‘catastrophic hunger’ worse, says UNRWA

08:28 AM BST

Two explosions reported near vessel off the coast of Yemen

A merchant vessel passing through the Gulf of Aden  reported two explosions in “close proximity”, British maritime security agency UKMTO said this morning.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said the “vessel and all crew are safe,” adding that “authorities are investigating” the blasts south of Yemen’s southern port city of Aden.

UKMTO, which is run by Britain’s Royal Navy, did not provide details on the ship or the nature of attack.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched dozens of drone and missile strikes against ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November.

08:14 AM BST

Negotiations set to resume today; returning dead hostages in first phase appears to be sticking point

Delegations from Israel and Hamas are set to head to Cairo today to resume negotiations on the new Egyptian-Qatari proposal, accepted by Hamas, to pause the fighting for an exchange of some of the 128 hostages held by Hamas and prisoners held by Israel.

While the terms of the deal were not public during yesterday’s whiplash back and forth between Israel and Hamas, Al Jazeera reports that it has obtained a copy of the proposal that was approved by Hamas (Israel claims this proposal does not meet its core demands and was not on the table).

One of the most important points, we are to believe, is that Hamas is to release “33 Israeli captives (alive or dead), including women (civilians and soldiers), children (under the age of 19 who are not soldiers), those over the age of 50, and the sick” in the first phase, in exchange for a number of prisoners.

It also says that Hamas will release “all living Israeli female soldiers” in return for prisoners.

The text says in the second (of three) stages “Israeli forces shall withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip”.

The New York Times this morning reports that Hamas informed the negotiators yesterday – as part of its counteroffer to Israel’s proposal – that not all of the 33 hostages to be released in the first stage would still be alive, but their remains would be returned.

The first group is supposed to include women, older men, the wounded and the sick. Israel, NYT reports, initially wanted it to be 40 hostage returns in this group but came to understand that Hamas did not hold that many that fit the criteria.

07:57 AM BST

Israeli military vehicles tour the Gaza-Egypt border with flags

07:55 AM BST

Silence from Egypt

Egypt has not yet commented on the Israeli seizure of the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing and officials are declining to make any comments to the press.

Cairo previously has warned any seizure of Rafah could see Palestinians fleeing over the border – a scenario they are particularly anxious about – that could threaten a 1979 peace deal with Israel that’s been a linchpin for regional security.

The seizure again raised the risks of an all-out Israeli assault on Rafah.

07:47 AM BST

Closing of Rafah crossing leaves Palestinians trapped

Israel’s capturing and closing of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing this morning has not only halted the flow of aid, but trapped all civilians inside Gaza.

While most could not afford the hefty fees required to leave – with thousands raising funds online – the border crossing was the only way out for those who pieced together the money for the Egyptian “brokers”.

The crossing was also being used to evacuate some of the most seriously wounded children. It is not immediately clear how long the crossing will be closed, or when Israel will reallow aid deliveries and evacuations to continue.

07:36 AM BST

Good morning

Hello and welcome to the Telegraph’s live blog of the Israel-Gaza war. Follow along as we bring you all of the latest developments.

First up this morning:

Israeli tanks capture Rafah border crossing

Israeli tanks seized control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border this morning and closed the crossing to aid deliveries into the besieged territory.

Footage released by the Israeli military showed a tank entering the crossing, which is also vital for evacuations from Gaza, after a night of heavy strikes on the southern Gazan city.

Israel also said that it had closed the Kerem Shalom crossing and that it will only reopen “when the security conditions allow it.”

The Israeli military claimed it seized the crossing after receiving intelligence it was “being used for terrorist purposes.” The military did not provide evidence to immediately support the assertion, though it alleged the area around the crossing had been used to launch a mortar attack that killed four Israeli troops and wounded others near the Kerem Shalom Crossing.

Israel launched the operation to seize the Rafah crossing with ceasefire negotiations on a knife-edge after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas’ acceptance of an Egyptian-Qatari deal last night.

Mr Netanyahu’s office said the truce proposal fell short of Israel’s demands but Israel would send a delegation to meet with negotiators to try to reach an agreement.