Israel, Hamas deny reports of ceasefire in Gaza
Hopes for a brief ceasefire in southern Gaza to allow foreign passport holders to leave the besieged Palestinian enclave and aid to be brought in were dashed on Monday, with Israeli bombardments intensifying ahead of an expected ground invasion. Media reports had said Israel, Egypt and the United States had agreed the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt would be opened for several hours Monday in a one-off move to allow foreign nationals to flee and aid goods to enter. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that "there is currently no ceasefire and humanitarian aid in Gaza in return for removing foreigners". Hamas official Izzat El Reshiq told the Reuters news agency that there was "no truth" to the reports about the opening of the crossing with Egypt or a temporary ceasefire. Egypt has said the crossing remained open from the Egyptian side in recent days, but was rendered inoperable due to Israeli bombardments on the Palestinian side. A surprise attack by Gaza's Hamas militants on southern communities in Israel left more than 1,400 dead on October 7, and retaliatory Israeli air strikes on Gaza since then have killed around 2,750 in the Palestinian territory. An estimated one million people have been displaced within Gaza, the United Nations agency for supporting Palestinian refugees has said. Israel has also carried out air strikes in the southern parts of Gaza in the areas of Khan Yunis and Rafah. Meanwhile, the Israeli military on Monday raised the figure to 199 people confirmed to have been abduced by Hamas to the Gaza Strip in the militants' cross-border attacks. "We have updated the families of 199 hostages," military spokesman Daniel Hagari told a media briefing, revising up an earlier figure of 155 captives. Israelis and foreigners are among those abducted in the Hamas assault on October 7. "The efforts on the hostages are a top national priority," Hagari said. "The army and Israel are working around the clock to bring them back." (Agencies)