Prospects Dim For Truce As Israel Rejects Calls To Spare Rafah

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Palestinians carry bodies of victims of Israeli bombardment in the southern Gaza Strip

The United States has signaled that it would veto the latest push for a United Nations Security Council resolution, as Qatar acknowledged that separate truce talks have hit a deadlock.

Efforts to pause the over four-month-old war was abortive as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to reject international appeals to spare Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where around 1.4 million people have sought refuge.

According to the official Palestinian news agency, Israel’s relentless campaign against Hamas militants has edged closer to the city, with attacks killing at least 10 people there and in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah overnight to Sunday.

Egypt, which controls the Rafah border crossing from Gaza, has repeatedly warned against any “forced displacement” of Palestinians into the Sinai desert.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday reiterated his opposition in a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, as both leaders agreed on the necessity of the swift advancement of a ceasefire.

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