Israel agrees to allow aid into Gaza, strikes Rafah

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden on Monday that he would ensure the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza is open for humanitarian aid, the White House said. Biden also reiterated his "clear position on Rafah" in a call with Netanyahu, the White House said in a statement.

Also on Monday, Israel's military carried out airstrikes in Rafah, residents said, hours after Israel told Palestinians to evacuate parts of the southern Gaza city where more than a million people uprooted by the war have been sheltering.

Fears are growing of a full-blown assault in Rafah, long threatened by Israel, against holdouts of the Palestinian militant group Hamas as ceasefire talks in Cairo stall.


There was no immediate comment from Israel, which Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV said had targeted areas in eastern Rafah near neighbourhoods given evacuation orders.

Instructed by Arabic text messages, phone calls, and flyers to move to what the Israeli military called an "expanded humanitarian zone" around 20 km (12 miles) away, some Palestinian families began trundling away under chilly spring rain.