Israel Hamas war live: Rafah border crossing opens for dual citizens and injured to evacuate

Rishi Sunak has thanked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for opening the Rafah crossing as they held talks about Gaza and the wider Middle East.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “He welcomed the opening of the Rafah crossing today for the first British and other nationals and injured Palestinians to leave Gaza. The Prime Minister thanked president Sisi for his efforts and said the UK would continue to work closely with Egypt and Israel to ensure all British citizens can leave Gaza safely.

“The leaders talked about urgent work to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and the Prime Minister updated on plans for a second UK aid flight to support the work of the Egyptian Red Crescent.

“He said ensuring life-saving aid and medical treatment reaches civilians by all available routes is a top priority and the UK stands ready to provide further support.

“The Prime Minister and President Sisi also discussed diplomatic efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, prevent escalation in the wider Middle East and achieve long-term peace and prosperity for the Palestinian people.”

Israeli ground troops have advanced to “the gates of Gaza City” in heavy fighting with militants, the military said.

Brig Gen Itzik Cohen, commander of the 162nd Armored Division, said: “We are located at the gates of Gaza City.”

Israeli forces appeared to be advancing on three main routes, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a US research group that tracks conflicts.

One thrust came from Gaza’s northeast corner. Another south of Gaza City was cutting across the breadth of the territory, reaching the main north-south highway.

The third from Gaza’s northeast corner had moved about three miles down the Mediterranean coast and reached the outskirts of the Shati and Jabaliya refugee camps on the edges of Gaza City.

Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group reported clashes with Israeli troops in several locations. Hamas’ armed wing posted video purporting to show its fighters emerging from tunnels and firing anti-tank rockets at Israeli tanks east of Gaza City.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel and Jordan on Friday, the State Department says.

Further stops in the Middle East are possible, meaning the trip may follow the frenetic pace of his last trip to the region shortly after the Hamas attacks in Israel.

Mr Blinken travelled to Israel three times and visited six Arab nations during that trip.

He will be entering a diplomatic maelstrom. Jordan has announced it has recalled its ambassador to Israel and will not permit Israel’s ambassador to Jordan to return to the country. It also said it would not revisit those moves until the Gaza conflict was over.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Mr Blinken would again underscore the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s right to defend itself but also stress the importance of minimising civilian casualties and ensuring that humanitarian assistance reaches innocent Palestinians in Gaza.

A British teacher was turned away at the Rafah border crossing into Egypt as her mother in the UK told of her daughter’s “limited” food and water supplies:

A British citizen in Gaza has described the desperate scenes at the Egyptian border that has opened for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war began. Mohamed Ghalayni, a British-Palestinian scientist based in Manchester who was in Gaza visiting family when the war started, told The Independent he used precious fuel supplies to travel to the border:

Israeli airstrikes have hit apartment buildings in a Gaza refugee camp for the second day in a row, Palestinian officials said.

The Hamas-run government said the strikes killed and wounded many people but the exact toll is not yet known.

Al-Jazeera television aired footage of devastation in the Jabaliya camp near Gaza City and of several wounded people, including children, being taken to a nearby hospital.

The footage showed nearly identical scenes to the day before, with dozens of men digging through the rubble of demolished multistorey buildings in search of survivors.

The United Nations human rights office says it is concerned that Israeli airstrikes on Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp could amount to war crimes.

“Given the high number of civilian casualties & the scale of destruction following Israeli airstrikes on Jabalia refugee camp, we have serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes,” the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights wrote on social media.

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak “reiterated Israel’s right to defend itself against terror” as he met the US vice-president , No 10 says.

In a readout issued after a meeting between Mr Sunak and Kamala Harris, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister reiterated Israel’s right to defend itself against terror as well as the need to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza and to free hostages taken by Hamas.

“Both agreed that the UK and US were aligned in these efforts and would continue to work with partners in the region to ensure stability.”