More than 30 British NGOs have signed a joint statement urging the UK government to work urgently to prevent any further assault on Rafah.

In their statement, the signatories including Action Aid UK, Christian Aid UK, Care International UK, International Rescue Committee UK, Medical Aid for Palestinian, Oxfam GB and Save the Children UK said repeated statements by British politicians “have been ignored by Israel”.

“The failure of our leaders to back words with meaningful action is glaring,” the groups said, calling on the government to “finally act to stop the slaughter”.

“The UK must work urgently to stop any further assault on Rafah from going ahead, demand an immediate lasting ceasefire, resume funding to UNRWA, and suspend arms sales to Israel for as long as there is a risk they may be used to violate international humanitarian law,” they added.

“A ceasefire is the only way to stop the death and destruction, get more aid to those who desperately need it, and safely release the hostages.

“There is no Plan B for the people in Rafah.”

Israel has strict obligations under international humanitarian law to ensure the safety of civilians in Gaza, a spokeswoman for the UN human rights office says.

The comments came hours after Israeli forces seized the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in a push against the southern city. Ravina Shamdasani said that, according to international law, Israel must ensure civilians have access to medical care, adequate food, safe water and sanitation.

“Failure to meet these obligations may amount to forced displacement, which is a war crime,” Shamdasani said. “There are strong indications that this [Rafah offensive] is being conducted in violation of international humanitarian law.”


_{Palestinians on the move after an evacuation order issued by the Israeli army in Rafah}

Saleem, an aid worker for Mercy Corps in Gaza, says he believes the initial Israeli invasion of the eastern area of Rafah signals the start of a larger military operation. “It’s a matter of time and all of Rafah will be invaded. There’s a pervasive fear that some areas will be suddenly bombed without prior evacuation warnings,” he said.

Saleem – whose name has been changed for safety reasons – said he’s thinking of heading to the central region, mostly Deir el-Balah, but the journey is “one of the most challenging things right now” as 1.5 million displaced people are also seeking to move.

Transportation costs 10 times more than usual with the average price $270. “There’s a genuine concern for a repeat of the famine scenario seen in the north. Should the invasion of Rafah persist without a ceasefire, the upcoming period will be marked by immense difficulty and tragedy.”

Alon Liel, the former director general of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says Israel is “ready to pay the price, even if it’s high” internationally to go into Rafah.

“Israel will not end the war and there will be no wording in the agreement to release hostages for any permanent ceasefire, any permanent ending of the war. Everybody can just forget about it. The Israeli government is not strong enough to sign such a deal, it will fall if it does,” Liel told Al Jazeera.

“Only if there’s meaningful change to the text that exists now that Hamas agreed to, then we might see a deal. Israel sees this Hamas so-called acceptance of the deal as a Hamas offer, not as an American-backed deal. And this cannot be accepted,” he added.

The former diplomat noted it’s Holocaust Day and the US government will not pressure Israel. “The feeling is here if Israel is not accepting [the deal], the Americans will not push further, especially on such a day.”

US President Joe Biden has used a speech on anti-Semitism to rally support for Israel, reiterating his “ironclad” support even as Israel’s ground war on Gaza threatens to expand into Rafah, where humanitarian officials say an assault would be a catastrophe for civilians.

The speech also comes as the Biden administration faces demonstrations against the war on university campuses across the country, which he has previously distanced himself from and accused of leaning into anti-Semitic rhetoric. Jewish and Arab communities have both reported upticks in discrimination since the beginning of the war.

“Not 75 years later, but just seven and a half months later [after an assault by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7], and people are already forgetting, they’re already forgetting, that Hamas unleashed this terror that it was Hamas that brutalised Israelis, that it was Hamas that took and continues to hold hostages,” Biden said. “I have not forgotten, nor have you. And we will not forget.”

Al Jazeera’s correspondent reports that Israeli army artillery fire has hit the headquarters of the local government in Rafah, as it steps up strikes on the southern Gaza city.

Jordan says Israeli settlers have attacked a humanitarian aid convoy on its way to Erez crossing in northern Gaza and “tampered with its contents” in the second such incident in less than a week.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Sufyan Qudah said the convoy, which drove through the Israeli-occupied West Bank from Jordan, later managed to continue its journey and reach its destination in war-devastated Gaza.

“Jordan holds Israel responsible for the attack by extremist settlers … it constitutes a breach of its legal obligations as an occupying power,” Qudah said.

Clashes break out in pro-Palestinian rally in Greece

Israeli negotiators have arrived in Cairo for talks on a truce in Gaza and release of abuctees, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says in a statement shared by his office.

He said he instructed the Israeli delegation to “stand firm on the conditions necessary for the release” of Israeli captives held in Gaza and on “essential requirements for guaranteeing Israel’s security”.

Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan has said that the mediators’ proposal is being put in jeopardy by Netanyahu.

“Hamas movement’s agreement on the proposal by the mediators have placed Netanyahu in a hard place and caused him to act in a hysteric fashion with statements that reveal a poltiical defeat and a stretagic loss,” Hamdan said at a news briefing in Beirut.

“The ball now is in Netanyahu’s court. Their behaviour and attitude after we announced our agreement reflects the determination by this criminal to spoil all attempts of mediation including those of the US and expresses carelessness for the lives of the captives who are threatened every day through the bombardments of the Israeli military.

“The ball is also in the court of the US administration … to prove and establish their sincerity by pressuring Netanyahu’s government.”

Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan says Israel’s attack on the Rafah border crossing with Egypt is an attempt by Netanyahu to hinder agreement on and implementation of a ceasefire.

“The occupation forces attacking Rafah crossing is a crime and a serious and dangerous escalation against a civilian facility that is under the protection of international law,” Hamdan said at a news briefing in Beirut.

“Invading and attacking the Rafah crossing by [Israeli forces] with predetermination by Netanyahu is an attempt to hinder the implementation of the agreement to stop the attack on our people. It’s a desperate attempt to create a pseudo-victory that can save some face for Netanyahu. This will never be achieved.”


Unbelievable, United states of Israel in action. Biden is Netanyahu's bitch through and through.

Biden administration denies that Hamas accepted ceasefire proposal

End of the war means ‘accountability’ for Netanyahu