Israel closes Gaza crossing as rockets are fired

Image source, Reuters

The attack on the border crossing comes as talks are held to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas

Israel has closed the Kerem Shalom crossing with the Gaza Strip after 10 rockets were fired, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has said.

At least 10 people were injured in the attack by Hamas, Israeli media report.

The crossing is one of the few routes to get humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The attack comes as mediators in Egypt hold talks to broker a ceasefire - and to release Israeli hostages. Israel has said it will not accept Hamas's demands to end the Gaza war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the proposed deal would keep Hamas in control of Gaza, posing a threat to Israel.

Hamas sent a delegation to Cairo on Saturday.

The main sticking point appears to be whether the truce will be permanent - as Hamas insists - or not.

It is thought the wording being discussed in the Cairo talks involves a 40-day pause in fighting while hostages are released, and the release of a number of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails.

An adviser to the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the group was looking at the latest proposal with "full seriousness". But he repeated a demand that any deal would have to explicitly include an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and complete end to the war.

Speaking on Sunday, Mr Netanyahu said: "The state of Israel cannot accept this [Hamas's demands], we are not prepared to accept a situation in which the Hamas brigades come out of their bunkers, take control of Gaza again, rebuild their military infrastructure, and return to threatening the citizens of Israel in the settlements surrounding the southern mountains, in all parts of the country."

"This will be a terrible defeat for the state of Israel," he added.

The war began after waves of Hamas gunmen stormed across Gaza's border into Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. The group is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by many Western countries.

During the subsequent Israeli military campaign in Gaza, more than 34,600 Palestinians have been killed and over 77,900 wounded, according to figures from the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Mr Netanyahu has faced pressure from within his far-right coalition to press ahead with the long-promised offensive in Gaza's southern-most city, Rafah, where an estimated 1.4 million people have taken shelter after fleeing fighting in northern and central parts of the strip.

The US - Israel's biggest diplomatic and military ally - is reluctant to back a new offensive that could cause significant civilian casualties, and has insisted on seeing a plan to protect displaced Palestinians first.

Image source, Amir Levy

The main sticking point in talks appears to be whether a ceasefire would be temporary or permanent

The Israeli government also faces mounting pressure at home. Thousands of Israelis rallied Saturday night calling for a deal to bring hostages home.

Protesters in Tel Aviv chanted "war is not holy, life is", with some accusing Mr Netanyahu of aiming to prolong the conflict in Gaza.

Of the 252 hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October, 128 are still unaccounted for - and among them, at least 34 are presumed dead.

Ceasefire talks have gone on for months without a breakthrough, and there has not been a pause in fighting or a release of hostages since the end of November.

There have been moments at which a new agreement has seemed imminent - only to fall through before being signed.

A source familiar with this latest round of discussions told the BBC that the negotiations were still complex, and any breakthrough could still take several days.