The Israeli military has acknowledged that it has taken control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which is located in southern Gaza and borders Egypt.

"Overnight, ground troops began a precise counterterrorism operation based on [military and security] intelligence to eliminate Hamas terrorists... within specific areas of eastern Rafah," the Israeli military stated in a statement.

In response to warnings from humanitarian agencies, including the United Nations, that an attack on Rafah would result in a "bloodbath," US President Joe Biden has cautioned Israel against going on the offensive.

More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war that started after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on 7 October, killing 1,200 people. Roughly 1.4 million civilians are currently displaced in Rafah, having fled to the region to avoid Israel’s war throughout the rest of the enclave, much of which has since been razed to the ground.

It comes as Hamas announced it had accepted a ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators Egypt and Qatar. A ceasefire would end seven months of war in Gaza but a deal is uncertain after Israel responded by saying the proposal did not meet its “core demands”.