Israel has denied reports that it has agreed to halt fire in southern Gaza to allow humanitarian aid and allow evacuation of foreign nationals from several countries through Rafah border crossing in the Gaza Strip.
“At the moment there is no ceasefire for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip and the exit of foreigners,” a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau’s office said.
Earlier, reports citing Egyptian officials claimed that Israel has agreed to halt fire in the Gaza Strip from 9 am in order to allow foreign nationals to exit Gaza and humanitarian aid to enter the blockaded territory through the Rafah border crossing.
Hundreds of foreign passport holders have gathered near the Rafah crossing on Egypt-Gaza border in hopes of crossing over to Egypt amid Israeli bombardment of Hamas targets in the Strip. Dozens of trucks carrying humanitarian aid for Gazans have been waiting on the Egyptian side of the border for the last two days.
Earlier last week, the United States asked American passport holders to reach near the Rafah crossing, saying the border may be opened soon for a brief period to facilitate their evacuation.
Israel has asked nearly 1.1 million Gazans to flee their home in the north and move to a safer area south of the Wadi Gaza ahead of their planned ground assault. According to reports, more than one million people have been displaced due to Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli counter offensive came in response to a brutal October 7 terrorist attack in the country. Tens of hundreds militants from Hamas’s military wing al-Qassam Brigades invaded Gaza and rampaged through Israeli towns near the Gaza border, killing more than 1,300 people, mostly civilian children, women and elderly.
The militants also kidnapped more than 155 people, including some foreign nationals and took them to Gaza.
In response, Israel declared a war against Hamas and launched unprecedented air strikes on militant hideouts in the Gaza Strip. Since October 7, more than 2,650 Palestinians have died in Israeli air strikes.