Summary
It is just after 7.00pm in Gaza and Tel Aviv.
Here’s what’s happened so far:
Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to ensure that the Kerem Shalom crossing is open for humanitarian assistance, during a Monday call with Joe Biden, the White House reported.
Scott Anderson, the senior deputy director of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa), said that the closing of Kerem Shalom and other aid passages threatens the critical fuel supply in Gaza. “Everything we do in Gaza is run by diesel. We currently have one day of diesel on hand. If we don’t have a resume by tomorrow, everything will stop,” he said to CNN.
Joe Biden reportedly demanded that Israel immediately reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing, one of the key routes for bringing aid into Gaza, during a call with Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, Axios reported, citing a senior US official.
During the 30-minute phone call, Biden and Netanyahu also spoke about ongoing hostage negotiations and Israel’s upcoming ground invasion of Rafah, Axios reported.
Thousands of people are evacuating from Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, hours after the Israeli military told residents and displaced people in eastern neighbourhoods to leave in advance of a long-threatened attack on the city and its environs. Witnesses described frightened families leaving the city on foot, riding donkeys or packed with their belongings into overloaded trucks on Monday. Overnight Israeli airstrikes had reinforced “panic and fear”, prompting more to heed the instructions to move.
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Updated
Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to ensure that the Kerem Shalom crossing is open for humanitarian assistance, during a Monday call with Joe Biden, the White House reported.
The Kerem Shalom crossing is one of the major routes for bringing humanitarian aid into Gaza. The crossing was closed after a rocket attack claimed by Hamas killed three soldiers, according to the Israel military. Israel then fired on a house in Rafah, reportedly killing at least three Palestinians.
During the call, Biden also updated Netanyahu on ongoing efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas, including talks happening in Doha, Qatar.
Here is a full readout of the call from the White House:
President Biden spoke this morning with Prime Minister Netanyahu. The President reaffirmed his message on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The two leaders discussed the shared commitment of Israel and the United States to remember the six million Jews who were systematically targeted and murdered in the Holocaust, one of the darkest chapters in human history, and to forcefully act against antisemitism and all forms of hate-fueled violence.
President Biden updated the Prime Minister on efforts to secure a hostage deal, including through ongoing talks today in Doha, Qatar. The Prime Minister agreed to ensure the Kerem Shalom crossing is open for humanitarian assistance for those in need. The President reiterated his clear position on Rafah.
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