On Monday, thousands left eastern neighbourhoods of Rafah in southern Gaza after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) told people to move to a “humanitarian zone” north-west of the city to avoid being harmed in an imminent attack. Then Hamas, after a week of stalling, accepted terms for a ceasefire put forward by mediators. Hours later, Israel said it would participate in a new round of ceasefire talks but that the conditions of a deal were still far from decided. Finally, after airstrikes overnight, the IDF sent a column of tanks and other armoured vehicles to seize the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday.
