Israeli Forces Take Control Of Rafah Crossing

Israeli tanks have taken over the Rafah border crossing after advancing during the night as Israeli warplanes pounded residential homes killing at least 12 people.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says the group has accepted a Gaza ceasefire proposal put forward by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says the proposal is far from Israel’s demands but that the Israeli government will send a delegation to Cairo for talks. Israel’s war cabinet also decided that its military would continue operations against Rafah, with the army announcing striking targets in the east of the city.

UN agencies and aid groups warn of devastating consequences of any Israeli military assault on Rafah after Israel ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians to evacuate ahead of attacks.

At least 34,735 people have been killed and 78,108 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive.

Three people have been killed in an Israeli air attack on a house belonging to the al-Darbi family west of Rafah city, our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues are reporting.

This adds to the at least 12 other people who have been killed in separate strikes on Rafah overnight, as the Israeli military intensifies its bombardment of the city in southern Gaza.

The crossing, Gaza’s main aid lifeline, has been forced to shut on the Palestinian side due to Israeli tank presence, according to a spokesperson for the Gaza border authority cited by Reuters._Al Jazeera