Palestinians told to evacuate eastern Rafah:

The order follows a night of intense Israeli bombardment that killed 22 people in Rafah, including eight children.

Earlier on Sunday, Hamas fired rockets at the Karem Abu Salem crossing, killing three Israeli soldiers.

It also comes as truce talks in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, appeared to stall and the Israeli cabinet voted unanimously to close Al Jazeera’s operations in the country.

At least 34,683 Palestinians have been killed and 78,018 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive.

‘A slaughter’: The warnings by world leaders, aid agencies against Rafah offensive

For many months, there have been repeated calls from world leaders, diplomats and aid agencies urging Israel not to go ahead with a planned ground offensive in Rafah.

Here are some of those warnings:

* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said a ground assault on Rafah would “put the final nail in the coffin” for humanitarian aid operations in the Gaza Strip.

* The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has said, “Any ground operation would mean more suffering and death” for more than a million displaced Palestinians sheltering in Rafah, with an official saying “it could be a slaughter of civilians”.

* European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said it would be “completely unacceptable” for Israel to attack Rafah.

* A statement issued by the foreign ministers of 26 member states of the EU called on Netanyahu not to go ahead with the offensive, saying it would “worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian situation”.

Joe Biden and other US officials have repeatedly warned against a Rafah offensive, with the US president reportedly telling Netanyahu the United States would oppose the offensive unless adequate provisions were made to move and care for the Palestinians sheltering there.

Multiple aid agencies have warned against a Rafah offensive, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, which said it “would profoundly exacerbate the already catastrophic levels of need and the humanitarian emergency for millions of civilians with nowhere left to go”.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled unimaginable suffering and misery, and sought refuge in #Gaza's southernmost area.

"A ground operation in Rafah will be nothing short of a tragedy beyond words," warned UN Relief Chief.

Israeli air force struck ‘deep inside Lebanon’ on Sunday, military says:

The Israeli military says its fighter jets struck a Hezbollah military structure in the area of es-Sifri, located south of the city of Baalbek near Lebanon’s border with Syria.

Lebanese media reported earlier that the attack targeted a factory in es-Sifri. There was no mention of casualties.

The Israeli military also said it struck several Hezbollah structures in southern Lebanon.

Since October 8, Hezbollah and the Israeli military have regularly traded fire. However, Israeli strikes have been mostly contained within the southern areas of Lebanon.

Israel briefed US on plan to evacuate Palestinians from Rafah: Report

Unnamed US officials told The Associated Press news agency that Israel briefed Biden administration officials this week on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The officials said the plan detailed by the Israelis did not change the US administration’s view that moving forward with an operation in Rafah would put too many innocent Palestinian civilians at risk.

Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his concerns regarding the operation, saying “we have not yet seen a plan that gives us confidence that civilians can be effectively protected”.

Regional and members of the international community have also voiced their opposition to Israel’s plans to invade Rafah, which has become the last refuge for Palestinians displaced by the war.

Original Story By | Nils Adler & Umut Uras