We're closing our live coverage of the recent strikes and raid in Rafah. Thanks for joining us.

If you wish to keep across the latest developments, our current news story will be updated as events evolve.

For a broader overview of the situation in Rafah and Sunday's overnight raid, which secured the release of two Israeli hostages and led to nearly 70 Palestinians being killed, follow this link..

Meanwhile, the Israeli military has said it will take action against any soldiers found to have filmed and uploaded footage online of Palestinian detainees stripped, bound and blindfolded, following a BBC Verify investigation.

It has been a tense day in Rafah, following an overnight raid by Israeli forces to rescue two hostages, with nearly 70 Palestinians killed in the border city, according to Hamas-run health ministry officials.

As we wind up our live coverage, here's a summary of the key events:

• Senior UN officials, as well as key allies, have stepped up calls for Israel to refrain from attacking the overcrowded city of Rafah
• UN human rights chief Volker Türk said a fully-fledged military operation would be terrifying, given some 1.5m Gazans are sheltering in the area
• The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, said civil order in the city was breaking down and aid lorries were being looted
• Israel has urged humanitarian agencies to cooperate with its efforts to evacuate civilians from conflict zones
• But UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron urged Israel to "stop and think seriously" before taking further action in the city, stressing there was "nowhere" for people to escape to
• EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell went further and called on allies of Israel to halt arms sales to the country
• The Israeli government responded by accusing those Western leaders demanding it curtails activities in Rafah of "complicity with Hamas's human shields' strategy"
• Israel says Rafah is the last stronghold for Hamas fighters, and key to securing the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza

• The two hostages rescued overnight on Sunday are in "good medical condition" and have been reuinted with their families

The UAE ambassador to the UN has said her country is "extremely worried" about the situation in Rafah.

Speaking at an event in Dubai, Lana Nusseibeh said "any military operation in Rafah would have unacceptable consequences".

Nusseibeh has called for a two-state solution, arguing that it is critical for the reconstruction of Gaza.

"You cannot deny the Palestinian right to statehood - and that is an Arab consensus," she said.

The United Arab Emirates and Israel established diplomatic ties in 2020, making it one of the few Arab countries to recognise Israel.

Despite maintaining those ties since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, the UAE has expressed strong solidarity with the Palestinians as the conflict continues.

Image source, Reuters

International patience grows thin as UK sanctions Israeli settlerspublished at 18:59 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February

18:59 GMT 12 February

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

There are more than 600,000 Israelis living in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem - and Western powers are increasingly worried about the violence some are using to try to seize land from Palestinians.

Ten days ago, the United States imposed sanctions on four settlers. The UK has now followed suit, targeting four Israelis whom the Foreign Office said had violently attacked Palestinians.

The settlers – only one of whom was also on the US list - are accused of destroying Palestinian property and threatening families at gunpoint.

They will be banned from travelling to Britain and any assets they have here will be frozen, complicating their links to Israeli banks exposed to UK financial markets.

Lord Cameron said the men’s behaviour was illegal, unacceptable and an egregious abuse of human rights. He accused Israel of not following through on its commitments to tackle extremist behaviour.

Settlers are a powerful force in Israeli politics and Benjamin Netanyahu’s government depends on their support.

But Western powers fear their actions could trigger an escalation in the current conflict, and these sanctions are a warning that international patience is growing thin.

Image source, Reuters

We're now hearing from International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan and his reaction to the military strikes in Rafah.

In a statement on X,, external Khan says he is "deeply concerned by the reported bombardment and potential ground incursion by Israeli forces".

He says his office is "actively investigating any crimes allegedly committed", adding that "those who are in breach of the law will be held accountable".

The ICC was designed to prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Based in The Hague, it has global jurisdiction.

It is a court of last resort, intervening only when national authorities cannot or will not prosecute.

Brandon Livesay
US reporter

The White House is also holding its daily media briefing, and National Security Council spokesman John Kirby is taking questions.

Kirby tells reporters the US never said Israel should not go into Rafah to take out Hamas targets, but he says “Israel has an obligation” to protect civilians.

Admiral Kirby follows the same talking point we just heard in the State Department briefing - that Israel must have a humanitarian plan for civilians in Rafah.

"The proper number of civilian casualties is zero. We don't want to see a single innocent civilian death, Israeli or Palestinian," Kirby says.

Kirby says Israel has heard "loud and clear" what the US expects. He also tells the briefing the US will continue to support Israel so it can defend itself.

Multiple reporters are quizzing Kirby about what leverage the US might have if Israel does not have a plan in place for Rafah. But Kirby refuses to be drawn into what he calls "hypotheticals".

How BBC Verify located last night’s rescue operationpublished at 18:27 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February

18:27 GMT 12 February

BBC Verify has analysed a video provided by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of last night’s hostage rescue.

We have located the operation to a district of Rafah dominated by plastic greenhouses.

We did this by locating photos and videos uploaded this morning to social media by photojournalists and citizens inside Gaza. The material, and the IDF’s own video footage, showed at least three huge craters as well as destroyed buildings and plastic greenhouses.

We then used satellite images to match key features - such as a tall funnel-like structure in the distance, distinctive buildings and the layout of the greenhouses themselves. We used the position of the sun to orient each different view. Additionally, the IDFs drone footage matches the buildings at the location.

Image source, IDF

Biden and King Abdullah in talks to find 'enduring end' to Gaza crisispublished at 18:17 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February

18:17 GMT 12 February

Sarah Smith
North America editor

Image source, Getty Images

"Efforts to produce an enduring end to the crisis" in Gaza is top of the agenda for today’s talks between President Joe Biden and Jordan's King Abdullah II, says the White House

The Biden administration has been working for weeks to try to secure a pause in the fighting and the release of hostages held in Gaza.

King Abdullah is the first Arab leader to visit the White House since the war began. A key figure in the negotiations, he has repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire and the delivery of more humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Both men are deeply concerned about the possibility of a fully-fledged military operation in Rafah.

When President Biden spoke on the phone to Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu yesterday, he insisted there needed to be a "credible" plan to protect civilians before any military action takes place.

The president is clearly becoming increasingly frustrated with the Israeli leader. In public, he has described Israel’s conduct of the war as over the top.

In private, it is reported that he has named Netanyahu as the primary obstacle in trying to persuade Israel to change tactics and agree to a ceasefire.

Brandon Livesay
US reporter

The US Department of State is currently holding a briefing, and we're hearing from spokesman Matthew Miller.

Rafah is immediately brought up, with Miller saying the US "does not support any military campaign in Rafah going forward, as long as they [Israel] cannot properly account for the 1.1 million people" estimated to be in the city.

Miller says Israel must have a plan for Palestinian civilians "that is credible" and achievable.

Regarding Sunday evening's strike by Israel in the city, Miller says: "it is not our assessment that this air strike is the launch of a full scale offensive in Rafah".

Miller tells the media briefing that Israel has said it is developing a humanitarian plan for civilians in Rafah, and the US "look forward to reviewing" that plan.

He also says the position of the Biden administration has been made "quite clear" to Israel's government.

BBC Arabic has been hearing from Abo Mohamed Attya, who was in Rafah when the overnight Israeli military operation happened.

He said: "We were sleeping and suddenly awoken by the sound of bombardment... thanks to God for the protection but others were in pieces".

He had previously been living at the al-Nuseirat refugee camp further north in the Gaza Strip before being displaced. He said he would have been prepared to leave Rafah if prior warning had been given.

"We would have gone out of Rafah to anywhere they told us. We have no problem, we would evacuate for our children. There is no safe place any more; nowhere is safe, even the hospitals are unsafe."

Image source, Getty

Israeli snipers killed seven people, and injured 14, inside Nasser Medical Complex in the city of Khan Younis, a spokesperson for the Hamas-run health ministry has claimed.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have not responded to the accusations, made by the ministry's Dr. Ashraf Al-Qudra on Telegram.

Videos on social media also purport to show victims of the alleged sniper attacks entering the hospital, as well as shots being fired at doctors and paramedics trying to reach injured people outside the complex.

Aid agency Doctors without Borders (MSF) tweeted about a similar incident on Saturday. A post on X, external, formerly Twitter, stated MSF staff reported shots had been fired at people inside the hospital. The post said two people had been killed and five injured, including a nurse.

“Israeli forces are continuing operations in the immediate vicinity of Nasser hospital. Heavy fighting is trapping people inside the building and preventing anyone from entering to access care,” MSF wrote.

Should countries be thinking twice about supplying arms to Israel?published at 17:38 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February

17:38 GMT 12 February

Nick Beake
Reporting from Jerusalem

International pressure on Israel is certainly growing.

Spanish politician Josep Borrell is the man who talks for the EU on foreign affairs: today he has suggested the international community may have to reconsider whether it should be supplying arms to Israel.

Some of his language was quite striking.

Basically, the EU chief was suggesting it's all very well some countries complaining that Israel is going too far, and saying they’re concerned by the number of civilians dying in Gaza, but - Borrell seemed to say - if you, as a country, are responsible arming Israel, shouldn’t you be thinking twice?

Clearly it's a strategy he believes could make a significant difference.

Those comments will be interpreted as being aimed at the US. They are the biggest supporter of Israel, both in terms of political weight they offer but also, more pertinently, in terms of the military hardware they supply.

As we've been reporting, Israel launched air strikes on the city of Rafah overnight, killing dozens.

Rafah is in the southern part of Gaza and is located about 30km (nearly 19 miles) south west of Gaza City.

It is also the site of the only crossing point between Gaza and Egypt.

About 1.5m people are sheltering in Rafah, having been displaced by Israeli operations elsewhere.Many of those people are living in tents with food, water and medical supplies in short supply.

Image source, .

The Red Cross has said there is "no safe area" in Gaza for evacuees, after the Israeli government called on aid agencies to "work with us" to evacuate civilians in Rafah ahead of their intended ground operation.

"I cannot imagine that any international organisation would have the capacity, the logistical preparations and the security guarantee to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people,” Hisham Mhanna, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told the BBC's World at One on Radio 4.

“There is no destination to evacuate this large number of people to," said Mhanna, who is currently in the city of Rafah.

"There is nowhere in Gaza now that is equipped as a safe environment, [a] safe area - so I see nowhere for people to go further than Rafah."

He said many in the border city had been displaced, on average, five times since the conflict broke out in Gaza in October.

Around 1.5 million Palestinians are now estimated to be sheltering in Rafah.

We've just received these images of some Palestinians beginning to flee Rafah, following the Israeli raid and bombardment overnight.

Some 1.5 million people have already sought relative safety in Rafah from other areas of Gaza hit by deadly fighting.

But fear over a looming ground operation being planned by Israel means many are now leaving the border city in the far south of Gaza:

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, Reuters

Khaled al-Taweel told Reuters news agency that Sunday's overnight strikes in Rafah were like "something you've never seen, not in Hollywood... not in Libya, not in Syria".

He accuses Israeli air strikes on the southern Gazan city of having "wiped out mosques, people - and displaced people".

An estimated 1.5 million people are sheltering in Rafah, many of whom came to the city after feeling other parts of Gaza.

Satellite images show Rafah’s rapid population growthpublished at 16:57 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February

16:57 GMT 12 February

In the months following the 7 October attacks by Hamas, Israel repeatedly told Palestinians living in north and central Gaza to move south for their own safety.

As a result, the population of the southern city of Rafah has increased more than fivefold – to about 1.4 million, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.

The satellite images below show rows of tents and other temporary structures which appeared in an area in north-west Rafah between 15 October 2023 and 4 February 2024.

In total, the tents cover roughly 3.5 sq km (1.3 sq miles), equivalent to nearly 500 football pitches.

As we are await the latest high-quality satellite images, it's not possible to say if any of those tents were hit by air strikes over the weekend.

The Israeli goverment has accused Western leaders urging Israel not to proceed with military operations in Rafah of being "complicit with Hamas's human shields' strategy".

"In telling Israel not to attack because civilians will be hurt, but then resisting efforts to get civilians out of harm's way, they have rendered themselves complicit with Hamas’ human shields strategy," said Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy.

"The United Nations and international actors now face a fateful choice. Do they want to save Hamas or save Palestinian civilians?" added Levy.

"They cannot stop Israel from dismantling the last four Hamas battalions in the Gaza Strip and securing the release of 134 remaining hostages."

Overnight on Sunday, two hostages were freed by members of the Israeli army after being found captive in the centre of Rafah.

Earlier today, Levy called on UN relief agencies to cooperate with the Israeli government's efforts to evacuate civilians in Rafah, to avoid them getting caught up in the offensive.

The UN's warning that Israel should not mount a full military push in Rafah follows on from unusually sharp criticism by the US - President Joe Biden on Thursday called Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza "over the top".

On Monday, thse comments were echoed by the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell who urged allies of Israel to stop sending weapons as "too many people" are being killed in Gaza.

At the same time, UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said Israel should "stop and think seriously" about any ground offensive in Rafah.

However, Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy has called on the international community to support its aims of dismantling Hamas operations.

Israel argues that Rafah is the last remaining stronghold for Hamas fighters.

Image source, EPA

UN warns Israel against defying international humanitarian lawpublished at 16:17 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February

16:17 GMT 12 February

Imogen Foulkes
Reporting from Geneva

The United Nations human rights chief has warned Israel not to launch a fully-fledged military operation in Rafah.

Volker Türk said such an operation would be "terrifying, given the prospect that an extremely high number of civilians, again mostly children and women, will likely be killed and injured".

He also said that a land incursion into Rafah could mean that the "meagre" humanitarian aid getting into Gaza might stop. An estimated 1.5 million people are crammed into the city, with thousands more thought to still be in northern Gaza.

UN aid agencies have already said that many risk starvation because of the very limited aid supplies being allowed in.

In a clear warning to Israel over its obligations under international law, Türk said fighting in Rafah risked "further atrocity crimes".

He added: "Israel must comply with the legally binding orders issued by the International Court of Justice, and with the full span of international humanitarian law.

"Those who defy international law have been put on notice. Accountability must follow."

Israel has repeatedly insisted that it is respecting international law in its operation in Gaza, but the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last month accepted South Africa’s initial claim that the conflict might have elements of genocide.

It ordered Israel to prevent acts that might be considered genocide in Gaza, allow humanitarian aid in, punish incitement to genocide, and take measures to protect Palestinians.

The UN special rapporteur on the occupied territories said, last week, she believed Israel was already in breach of the ICJ ruling.