07:49
Israel claims control over Palestinian side Rafah border crossing
Israeli forces have captured the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in the far south of Gaza. This is reported by the Israeli army. Military personnel are currently investigating the area.
The Rafah border crossing, between Gaza and Egypt, is an important access point for humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. Last night, Israeli tanks gathered at the border crossing in an attempt to take control. Reuters reports that the crossing has now been closed due to the presence of the Israeli army. New aid supplies are no longer entering Gaza, sources report to the news agency. The border crossing at Kerem Shalom is also currently closed.
Israel appears to have begun its long-awaited, all-out assault on Rafah, where about a million displaced Palestinians are currently sheltering. Yesterday morning, the Israeli army called on 100,000 civilians from eastern Rafah to evacuate due to an upcoming operation.
Jasper Daams
07:29
Police clear UvA protest camp, 125 pro-Palestinian demonstrators arrested
The police cleared the tent camp on the Roeterseiland campus of the University of Amsterdam last night. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators set up a tent camp there on Monday to protest against cooperation with Israel because of the war in Gaza. The police say they have arrested 125 people.
The police had asked the demonstrators several times to leave the site, but not everyone complied. That is why the police proceeded with the eviction around half past two last night on the orders of the Public Prosecution Service. Everyone was asked to leave the area. Just after four o’clock the last demonstrators were escorted by the police to waiting buses.
Read the full article here.
03:59
Death toll rises due to continued bombing of Rafah
At least twelve people were killed in continued Israeli attacks in the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza, on Monday night. Palestinian media report this. Four people were killed in an Israeli attack on a house in eastern Rafah, the Palestinian Information Center said.
The Israeli army claims it is hitting Hamas targets in the city, but Palestinians say innocent civilians are being hit. Three people, including a child, were reportedly killed in an attack on a house in western Rafah.
Earlier last night, a local hospital announced that five people had been killed and an unknown number of injured after an attack on a house in Rafah. (ANP, editorial)
01:18
Israeli tanks advance towards Rafah border crossing
The Israeli army has moved into action to capture the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza in the coming hours, Palestinian media report.
The Rafah border crossing, in the far south of the Gaza Strip, is an important entry point for humanitarian aid into Gaza. More than a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering in the city. Israel says the eastern part of the city is a strategic location for Hamas.
Israeli forces also advanced to the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Monday evening. Palestinian media reports that Israeli tanks shelled the Gaza border crossing from a distance of 200 meters. The border crossing is about three kilometers from Rafah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet unanimously decided on Monday evening to proceed with the planned ground offensive in Rafah. Israel has ordered about 100,000 Palestinians to leave Rafah for security reasons. They should go to the Al Mawasi area near the coast. (AP)
01:04
Local hospital reports at least five deaths after attacks on Rafah
During the Israeli attacks on Rafah, in southern Gaza, at least five people have been killed. According to a local hospital, in addition to the five deaths, several injured people were also admitted to the hospital on Monday.
According to witnesses and Palestinian security sources, the area is currently the scene of intensive Israeli military attacks. (AP)
00:02
Israel carries out heavy bombardments over Rafah
Israel carried out heavy bombardments over Rafah on Monday evening, a local journalist reports AFP. According to the journalist, bombs fell continuously on the city in southern Gaza for thirty minutes.
Israel has also reiterated a call for residents of Rafah to leave the city as it says it is preparing a ground operation. “We are calling on residents tonight to evacuate,” said army spokesman Daniel Hagari. He also said that Israeli planes had already hit 50 terrorist targets near Rafah on Monday.
The timing is striking because earlier in the evening Hamas agreed to a ceasefire proposal. This was co-negotiated by Egypt and Qatar. Israel has not yet responded to that proposal, although an army spokesperson said in an initial response that Israel “looks at every proposal seriously” and that all options are being explored to free the hostages. (AP)
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11:57 PM, Yesterday
Jordanian king fears new Rafah massacre
Jordan’s King Abdallah II called on the international community in Washington on Monday to do everything to avoid “a new massacre” in Rafah. The Israeli army is currently bombing the city in the southern Gaza Strip.
During a meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House, Abdallah II warned that “an Israeli attack on Rafah, home to 1.4 million Palestinians displaced by the war, risks turning into a new bloodbath,” it was reported. read in a press release from the Jordanian embassy in the US.
Earlier, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is endangering the establishment of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip by bombing Rafah.
“Huge efforts have been made to reach an exchange agreement that will release hostages and achieve a ceasefire,” Safadi writes on X. “Hamas has made an offer. If Netanyahu really wants a deal, he would be seriously negotiating the offer now. Instead, he is jeopardizing the deal by bombing Rafah.” (AP)
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11:55 PM, Yesterday
Armed Islamic Jihad branch fires rockets towards Israel
The armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad said on Monday evening that it had launched rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Israel. The Israeli army is also currently bombing the southern city of Rafah.
“We have targeted (the city of) Sderot, (kibbutz) Nir Am and other settlements” in the Israeli area around the Gaza Strip, the group said in a press release.
The Israeli army confirms that air raid sirens went off in those areas. It is not yet clear whether there have been any casualties. (Belga)
10:10 PM, Yesterday
Welcome to this live blog
This was the most important news of Monday, May 6:
• Hamas says it agrees to a ceasefire proposal. According to Israel, this is a different proposal than what it agreed to ten days ago. Israel will send a new delegation to the mediators for further talks.
• An offensive in Rafah is still imminent. In the morning, Israel ordered the evacuation of parts of Rafah, where Israel carried out attacks in the evening.
• Tent camps have also been set up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators at several universities outside the US. In Amsterdam, a tent camp has been referred to the Roeterseiland campus of the UvA.
Read yesterday’s full live blog here.
