Live Updates: Israeli forces order Palestinians to evacuate eastern Rafah

Monday, May 6, 2024

06:44 GMT — Israeli army has started evacuating some neighbourhoods near the border in eastern Rafah, ahead of an expected ground assault in Palestine's southern city of Gaza today.

Israeli army spokesperson urged Palestinian residents and displaced persons in several areas east of Rafah to evacuate immediately towards the al Mawasi area, according to state television KAN.

"The estimate is around 100,000 people," a military spokesman told journalists when asked how many people were being evacuated.

Despite growing international opposition, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to invade Rafah, home to more than 1.4 million displaced Palestinians.

Rafah is the last remaining area in Gaza where Israel had not formally announced the entry of its troops to continue the onslaught against Palestinians.

06:22 GMT — US, Israeli defence chiefs discuss Israel-Hamas hostage talks

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant have spoke by phone about talks between Israel and Hamas on a hostage deal that would lead to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Austin and Gallant exchanged views on humanitarian assistance efforts and the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement.

"The Secretary reaffirmed his commitment to the unconditional return of all hostages and stressed the need for any potential Israeli military operation in Rafah to include a credible plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians and maintain the flow of humanitarian aid," Ryder said.

06:10 GMT — Israel bombs UNRWA building in Gaza

Israeli army has bombed a building belonging to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza local media reported.

Israel’s state broadcaster KAN said Israeli forces claimed the building was a "military command centre" used by the Palestinian group Hamas.

05:42 GMT — Israeli air strikes kill 6 Palestinians in Rafah, including 2 children

At least six Palestinians have been killed, including two children, and several others injured in Israeli air strikes in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.

“At least six martyrs, including two children, one of them an infant, and others injured in varying degrees were brought to Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah,” a medical source informed an Anadolu correspondent.

The correspondent reported that Israeli warplanes targeted a house belonging to the Qeshta family on George Street opposite Haroun al-Rashid Mosque without prior warning, resulting in fatalities and injuries.

04:00 GMT — Gaza ceasefire a must in Israel hostage deal — Hamas

Hamas insists that any hostage swap deal with Israel must include a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the head of the resistance group’s international relations office has said.

In an interview with the Al Aqsa TV channel posted on Telegram on Sunday, Mousa Abu Marzouk revealed that there would be a meeting of Palestinian factions in China and they hoped it would lead to an end to any divisions.

China revealed last Tuesday that Beijing had recently hosted “national reconciliation” meetings between the two main Palestinian factions following similar talks in Moscow in February aimed at resolving internal disputes and divisions between them.

03:00 GMT — Thousands protest against Israel’s Gaza ‘genocide’ in Denmark

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Denmark as the country marked Liberation Day by protesting against Israel's war on Gaza.

The organisers of the demonstration in Copenhagen linked the protest directly with the struggle of Danish resistance fighters against the German occupation during the Second World War.

"We celebrate the liberation by demanding an end to the genocide in Gaza,” the movement, called "Everyone on the Streets for a Free Palestine," wrote in a Facebook post.

For our live updates from Sunday, May 5, click here.