Live updates: Israeli forces seize Gaza side of key Rafah border crossing
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The Israeli military said its ground forces have seized control of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, closing a crucial entry point for humanitarian aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The move comes after Hamas announced it had accepted a cease-fire proposal following weeks of talks with Qatar and Egypt. Israel said that the deal was "far from" its requirements and that it would push ahead with a Rafah operation and send a delegation to the talks.
The ground incursion is “a very limited” operation designed to achieve tactical military goals and put pressure on Hamas in talks, an Israeli official told NBC News. Israeli negotiators are heading to Cairo today to try to bridge gaps between the Israeli-approved proposal and the Hamas-approved proposal, the official said.
Earlier, Israel told some 100,000 people to evacuate eastern Rafah and head to what it said was an expanded humanitarian area. World leaders and aid groups have warned against a broader operation in the city, where more than 1 million people are sheltering.
11m ago / 4:32 PM GMT+3
CIA chief in Cairo as Israel sends a delegation for cease-fire talks
Dan De Luce
CIA Director William Burns is in Cairo for the latest round of hostage-ceasefire talks, a U.S. official told NBC News.
An Israeli delegation is headed to the Egyptian capital to discuss a deal after the country’s War Cabinet said the proposal accepted by Hamas was "far from" meeting its demands.
41m ago / 4:02 PM GMT+3
Palestinians continue to flee parts of Rafah
Matt Nighswander
Displaced Palestinians continued to flee eastern Rafah today following an evacuation order by the Israeli army and the ground incursion that saw IDF tanks seize control of the Gaza city’s border crossing with Egypt.
A cease-fire sticking point: Whether the hostages released would be living people or dead
Raf Sanchez
TEL AVIV — One of the key disagreements between Israel and Hamas is whether the 33 hostages released in the first phase of a cease-fire deal would be living or dead, an Israeli official tells NBC News.
In the text of its proposal, obtained by NBC News, Hamas commits to releasing 33 hostages in the first phase of the deal but says that total can include living people or dead bodies. Israel’s position is that Hamas must release 33 living hostages, the Israeli official said.
There are also disagreements over how many hostages would be released in each week of the cease-fire, the official says.
2h ago / 3:01 PM GMT+3
Rafah hospitals warn of ‘major health disaster’ as Israel strikes city
Chantal Da Silva
Hospitals in Rafah are sounding the alarm of a mounting "major health disaster" amid the IDF’s ground operations and ongoing bombardment of the city.
Dr. Suhaib Al-Hams, director of the Kuwait specialized hospital in Rafah, warned that the medical facility was the "only hospital operating now with minimal capabilities" after Al-Najjar Hospital in eastern Rafah "went out of service due to it being classified within" the Israeli military’s evacuation zone.
He said the Kuwait hospital had received dozens of people killed and injured, with NBC News’ crew on the ground capturing the aftermath of several strikes. In the footage captured over the past two nights, several homes could be seen destroyed, while at the Kuwait hospital, the bodies of people killed, including children, could be seen wrapped in shrouds as family members mourned their loved ones.
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Palestinians search for bodies in rubble after Israeli strikes on Rafah
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2h ago / 2:31 PM GMT+3
Israeli tanks roll into Rafah amid cease-fire uncertainty
Richard EngelNBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent, Host of MSNBC’s "On Assignment with Richard Engel"
JERUSALEM — A key sticking point in cease-fire talks is the future of Hamas in Gaza. The terms presented by Hamas strongly suggest that the militant group would remain in power, which is something Israel has said it would never accept.
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Israeli tanks roll into Rafah amid cease-fire uncertainty
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2h ago / 2:15 PM GMT+3
Government in Muslim-majority Malaysia defends expo featuring Israel weapons suppliers
Jeremy Zhu
Officials in Malaysia defended a government-backed defense exhibition after pro-Palestinian protesters demanded the expulsion of companies such as American arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin that supply Israel with weapons.
A handful of demonstrators protested against the companies’ participation in the Defense Services Asia exhibition today in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital, local media reported. The government of the Muslim-majority nation has been vocal in its criticism of Israel and protesters said the inclusion of the companies in the exhibition was inconsistent with Malaysia’s support for Palestinian statehood.
In a statement, Defense Minister Khaled Nordin said that while Malaysia opposes all forms of injustice against Palestinians, “Malaysia is a free trade country that allows space for all global industry players to market their products and services in Malaysia.”
The Malaysian public’s opposition to Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip has given rise to consumer boycotts of American restaurant chains such as Starbucks, McDonald’s and KFC, with KFC saying last week that it had temporarily closed some outlets in the country.
