Egypt has condemned Israel’s offensive in Rafah, the last remaining area in Gaza yet to be invaded.

Egypt’s ceasefire proposal, co-authored with Qatar over the weekend, was accepted by Hamas but rejected by Israel.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “We condemn the military operations in Rafah and the Israeli control over the Palestinian side of it. This dangerous escalation threatens the lives of more than a million Palestinians who depend on this crossing, which is the main lifeline. We call on Israel to exercise maximum restraint”

A humanitarian aid organisation operating in Gaza has said they “woke up to the sound of airstrikes and loud explosions” in Rafah, nearby to where they have been donating aid to Palestinian civilians caught up in Israel’s war.

Israel launched an offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah early on Tuesday morning.

Ahmed Bayram, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council, whose team is currently in Rafah, described the latest Israeli attack as “unthinkable”.

He told The Independent: “Our teams on the ground woke up to the sound of airstrikes and loud explosions very close from where we give aid.

“People in cars, buses, and on horse carts have knocked down their tents and left, not just in the areas where Israel issued evacuation orders but also in central and west Rafah.

“The prospect of a military operation in the heart of the most impoverished civilian population is just unthinkable. Such a step would not only lead to more inevitable deaths among families and children, but also the crippling of the entire aid system which relies on the Rafah crossing to bring in food, water and shelter support.

“We urge Israel’s allies to push for a complete reversal of this plan and for all sides to take the only viable alternative, a complete and sustainable ceasefire.”

Israel has defied international concern and ordered the partial evacuation of Rafah – the last refuge in Gaza, where 1.4 million desperate civilians are braced for an impending ground assault the United Nations warned could lead to “bloodbath”.

Western leaders expressed dismay that Israel might press ahead with an invasion of the tiny area despite a last-ditch bid by Hamas to secure a temporary ceasefire.

Sirens have sounded at the Kerem Shalom Crossing in southern Gaza, the Israeli military have reported.

Netanyahu is determined to attack Rafah, despite US warnings. Andrew Feinberg speaks to Israeli and American officials about what the consequences might be

Images have shown Palestinians fleeing Rafah following the Israeli orders to evacuate the area ahead of a ground offensive.

Israeli tanks were seen rolling into the eastern side of the Rafah crossing this morning, before running down signs welcoming visitors to Gaza. Strikes in the area on Tuesday have reportedly killed 20 people already, according to the Palestinian news agecy Wafa.

At least 34,789 Palestinians have been killed and 78,204 injured in Israel‘s military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, Gaza’s health ministry has said in an updated statement.

Palestinian news agency Wafa reported this morning that 20 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed by Israeli airstrikes already. It reports that an additional person was killed by a strike on Gaza City in the north.

A copy of the ceasefire proposal submitted by Qatar and Egypt concerning the war between Israel and Hamas has been leaked to Al Jazeera.

Hamas has accepted the proposal but Israel, who have just launched an offensive in Rafah, the last remaining area of the Gaza Strop to be invaded, rejected the bid.

The plan is broken down into three 42-day stages, with the majority of hostage swaps and military retreats taking place during the first stage.

During the first 42 days, 600 trucks of humanitarian aid are due to be delivered on a daily basis, while Israel is expected to slowly withdraw from areas in Gaza, starting from the north and finishing in the south.

Regarding hostages, the text reads: “During the first phase, Hamas shall 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 exchange for a number of prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centres.”

The ratio of swaps would be one Israeli hostage for 30 Palestinian prisoners.

The second and third stages relate to Israel’s “complete withdrawal” from the Gaza Strip and the subsequent reconstruction of the enclave.

You can read the full text here.

An Israeli offensive in Rafah “must not go ahead”, Sir Keir Starmer has warned, after the Israeli military told Palestinians to leave parts of the southern Gazan city.

The announcement signals that a long-threatened Israeli ground invasion could be imminent, and came as ceasefire talks appeared to have stalled.

Israel had previously paused its plan to attack Rafah, which it says is the last significant Hamas stronghold, to allow for negotiations over the release of Israeli hostages by the militant group.