Middle East crisis live: Hamas condemns Israeli order to evacuate Rafah as a ‘dangerous escalation’

Photograph: Ismael Abu Dayyah/AP Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera news TV on Monday quoted an unnamed “high-level” source as saying that Hamas’s attack on Gaza’s Kerem Shalom crossing had caused an impasse in ceasefire talks, Reuters reports.

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant has told his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, that military action in Rafah was required due to Hamas’ refusals of mediated proposals for a Gaza truce under which the Palestinian Islamist group would free some hostages.

Senior Israeli officials ramped up pressure on Hamas on Sunday, saying Israel would refuse any permanent end to hostilities and threatening a new onslaught “in the very near future” if the militant organisation did not accept recently proposed terms for a ceasefire.

Israel used a US weapon in a March airstrike which killed seven healthcare workers in southern Lebanon, according to a Guardian analysis of shrapnel found at the site of the attack, which was described by Human Rights Watch as a violation of international law.

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant has told his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, that military action in Rafah was required due to Hamas’ refusals of mediated proposals for a Gaza truce under which the Palestinian Islamist group would free some hostages.

A statement from the US defence department earlier said only that Austin “reaffirmed his commitment to the unconditional return of all hostages and stressed the need for any potential Israeli military operation in Rafah to include a credible plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians and maintain the flow of humanitarian aid.”