We are now closing this blog but you can read all our Gaza coverage here.
Summary of the day …
Antony Blinken has said there is a “sense of urgency” around proposals for an immediate ceasefire, confirming that Egyptian mediators had spoken to Hamas earlier today. While he refused to be drawn on details of the conversations, the US secretary of state said his country greatly appreciated the role being played by Egypt, but also said that everybody in the region needed to apply pressure to Hamas to get them to accept the deal that was on the table. Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters Blinken’s comments were “biased to Israel” and that his stance is a real obstacle to reaching an agreement
However the prospect of a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas appears to be rapidly receding after the far-right Israeli cabinet member Bezalel Smotrich – on whom Benjamin Netanyahu is now reliant after the resignations of more moderate ministers at the weekend – said he would oppose a deal. Smotrich’s comments, during a Knesset committee meeting, came amid the fallout from the resignation of the former army chief of staff Benny Gantz from the war cabinet. Gantz quit on the same weekend that Israel rescued four Israeli hostages held in Gaza in an operation that Gaza’s health ministry said killed more than 270 Palestinians and injured hundreds more
The US is to try to shore up support for its proposed Gaza ceasefire deal by asking the 15-strong UN security council in New York to back a resolution supporting the deal. Washington is struggling to gain the unequivocal backing of Israel or Hamas for a three-stage deal proposed by the US president, Joe Biden
NBC News in the US is carrying claims that officials from Biden’s administration have discussed potentially negotiating a unilateral deal with Hamas to secure the release of five Americans being held hostage
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday stressed the importance of international efforts to remove obstacles to delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip during his meeting with Blinken
The Palestine Red Crescent Society has criticised Israel for continuing to keep the Rafah border closed, calling it “an enforcement of collective punishment” while Gaza suffers what it describes as “acute levels of famine”
The health ministry in Gaza has issued new casualty figures, claiming that 37,124 Palestinians have been killed during Israel’s military campaign in the territory, with 84,712 injured. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict
Pro-Palestine activists have targeted twenty branches of Barclays Bank in the UK, vandalising them in protest at the bank investing in fossil fuels and in arms trades involving Israel
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has asked activists to “turn the heat down” after the US consulate in Sydney was damaged in what appeared to be an act of pro-Palestinian support
