Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to launch a full-scale ground operation in Rafah in a bid to dismantle the remaining battalions of Hamas.

The US and other countries, fearing mass casualties, have tried to convince Israel not to attack Rafah. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says it’s necessary to defeat the last of Hamas’s battalions.

Palestinians observe May 15 as Nakba Day, Arabic for catastrophe, to commemorate the expulsion of 700,000 Arabs at the time of the establishment of Israel in 1948.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed said the fundamental difference between the two parties was over the release of hostages and ending the war.

Egypt announced its intention to formally support South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice against Israel, alleging genocide in its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The militants blamed Israel for effectively rejecting a deal proposed by mediators through the amendments it made.

Envoy who visited Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and UAE said to have encountered general agreement with Beijing’s push for restraint and direct dialogue.

The UN says more than 100,000 people have fled Rafah in recent days, as the southern Gaza city is under threat of a full-scale Israeli ground invasion.

Talks are still under way in Egypt as negotiators seek a pause in Israel’s seven-month-old offensive.

The Rafah crossing has been a vital conduit for humanitarian aid since the start of the war and is the only place where people can enter and exit.

Israel sent tanks into Rafah in war-torn Gaza’s far south and took control of the border crossing with Egypt, as ceasefire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife’s edge.

Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed to a Gaza ceasefire proposal from mediators, but Israel said the terms did not meet its demands.

Hamas negotiators are in Egypt to give a response to a proposed ceasefire, but Israel says it will send a delegation only if it sees ‘positive movement’ on a hostage deal.

There has been “significant progress” in negotiations to reach the deal, according to a report by an Egyptian TV channel.

Tens of thousands have been killed. Yet domestic politics are as much a factor as any looming humanitarian disaster for Western and Middle Eastern governments involved in peace talks.

With summer now approaching, Palestinians and relief organisations are increasingly concerned about people living in makeshift shelters that intensify heat rather than protect people from it.

After months of stop-and-start negotiations, the ceasefire efforts appear to have reached a critical stage, with Egyptian and American mediators reporting signs of compromise in recent days.

UK foreign minister David Cameron said Hamas has been offered a 40-day ceasefire and the release of “potentially thousands” of Palestinian prisoners in return for freeing Israeli hostages.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said Israel must still do more to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into besieged Gaza

Jain is only 34, but he’s already worth US$1.2 billion thanks to his successful company Bilt Rewards, and he’s just spent big on a lavish Egyptian wedding – here’s what you need to know

It’s the top US diplomat’s seventh Middle Eastern trip since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.

The White House said US President Joe Biden reiterated his ‘clear position’ as Israel plans to invade Rafah despite global concern for more than 1 million Palestinians sheltering there.

The Post’s arts editor Enid Tsui reports back from opening week at the Venice Biennale 2024 with the pavilions, exhibitions, artists and performances that stood out for her.

The baby girl survived after she was delivered by caesarean section as her mother, Sabreen al-Sakani, was fatally wounded from an Israel air strike.

Since Hamas’ unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel triggered war in Gaza, there have been near-daily cross-border exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

As the Gaza war drags into its seventh month, conflict on Sunday was focused on Lebanon and the West Bank, but Israeli officials said further fighting in Gaza has been authorised.

Bob proposed by singing a song from The Greatest Showman at Taj Mahal, but years later the couple have been accused of being involved in an Egyptian bribery scheme

Israel says Hamas ‘is continuing to exploit the tension with Iran’ and ‘does not want a humanitarian deal’.

The US and Israel had been bracing for an attack for days after Iran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike this month on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed 12 people