Israeli Army intensifies strikes on Gaza border city of Rafah

Israeli forces bombed areas in the southern border city of Rafah where more than half of Gaza's population is sheltering on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a proposal to end the war in the Palestinian enclave.

Netanyahu said on Wednesday terms proposed by Hamas for a ceasefire that would also involve releasing hostages held by the Palestinian militant group were "delusional" and vowed to fight on, saying victory was in reach and just months away.

The rejection followed intense diplomacy to end the four-and-a-half-month conflict before a threatened Israeli assault on Rafah, which is now home to over a million people, many of them in makeshift tents and lacking food and medicine.

Aid agencies have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe if Israel follows through on its threat to enter one of the last remaining areas of the Gaza Strip that its troops have not moved into during its ground offensive.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that pushing into Rafah on the border with Egypt would "increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences."

Israel says it takes steps to avoid civilian casualties and accuses Hamas militants of hiding among civilians, including at school shelters and hospitals, leading to more civilian deaths. Hamas has denied this.

Reuters