Israel-Gaza - live: Israeli tanks enter Rafah as military controls crossing after Hamas accepts ceasefire deal

Israeli forces have taken control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which borders Egypt in southern Gaza, the Israeli military has confirmed.

In a statement, the Israeli military wrote: “Overnight, ground troops began a precise counterterrorism operation based on [military and security] intelligence to eliminate Hamas terrorists… within specific areas of eastern Rafah.”

US president Joe Biden has warned Israel against launching an offensive in Rafah as humanitarian organisations, led by the United Nations, warned that such an attack would lead to a “bloodbath”.

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”.

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.

Jordan says ‘another massacre of Palestinians is in the making’ if ground operation in Rafah goes ahead

Sirens have sounded at the Kerem Shalom