In Israel, some families of hostages have been expressing their fear about what a Rafah operation might mean for their loved ones.

Gil Dickman's aunt was killed during the 7 October attacks by Hamas and had two cousins taken hostage. One was released and the other remains captive.

"Now unfortunately we're very much afraid as families of hostages about what's going to happen," he told BBC's Newsday programme.

"We're very much afraid that the IDF entering Rafah will risk the lives not only of innocent people, not only of soldiers but also of some hostages who might be at risk because of the attack on Rafah."

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.

Palestinians have begun to flee eastern Rafah after the Israeli military says it is "encouraging" people in the southern Gazan city to move towards an expanded humanitarian zone.

It comes ahead of an expected offensive in Rafah, where more than 1.4 million people are sheltering.

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

In an initial briefing to journalists, the Israeli military spokesman, Nadav Shoshani, stressed that what was planned in Rafah was of “limited scope”.

He said that no timeframe had been announced and that the evacuation affecting an estimated 100,000 people would be carried out in “a gradual way”.

However, that will not allay the fears of locals and more than one million displaced Palestinians crammed into Gaza’s southernmost city that a wider offensive is on the cards.

For months, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been insisting that victory against Hamas cannot be won without a full-scale offensive there.

Israel says Rafah harbours four remaining Hamas battalions – amounting to thousands of fighters.

Western and Arab powers as well as the UN have repeatedly warned against such a wide ground operation in Rafah, because of the prospect of high numbers of civilian casualties.

Officials from Israel and its closest ally, the US, have been holding meetings to discuss alternative, more focused plans. It is not clear if the new evacuation orders are part of those.

After Israeli's military called on 100,000 Palestinian civilians to evacuate parts of eastern Rafah, some Gazans have started leaving the city.

Families have been pictured departing the southern city in the last hour:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

The latest violence in Gaza follows two days of talks between Israel and Hamas with mediators in Cairo, Egypt.

There has been little progress, with both Israel and Hamas saying they will not give ground on key demands, but discussions are expected to resume today.

Hamas said its delegation would travel to Qatar to consult with the group's leadership.

The truce proposal is believed to involve a 40-day pause in fighting, allowing the release of hostages in Gaza and a number of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails.

Hamas said it viewed the current proposal in a "positive light", but the main sticking point appears to be whether the ceasefire deal would be permanent or temporary.

The group is insisting any deal makes a specific commitment towards an end to the war, but Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected that on Sunday.

"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.

Image source, Reuters

Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in a Hamas rocket attack near one of the main crossings used to deliver aid into Gaza, Israel has said.

The Kerem Shalom crossing was closed overnight by Israel following the strike.

Subsequent Israeli strikes in the southern Gazan city of Rafah have reportedly killed at least 12 people.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said 10 projectiles had been fired from an area near the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza, about 3.6km (2.2 miles) from Kerem Shalom.

Hamas's armed wing claimed responsibility and said its target was a nearby Israeli army base.

They were fired from a site some 350m from a civilian shelter, the IDF said

It called the launches "another clear example of the terrorist organisation's systematic exploitation of humanitarian facilities and spaces, and their continued use of the Gazan civilian population as human shields".

Hamas denies it uses civilians as human shields.

You can read the full story here.

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Israel’s military has said it’s begun ordering Palestinian civilians to leave parts of eastern Rafah ahead of a planned operation in the southern Gaza city.

It says about 100,000 people are being directed to head towards tent cities in nearby Khan Younis and al-Mawasi.

The Israeli military is using text messages, flyers and social media to tell people to move.

In what he said was an initial briefing to journalists, an army spokesman said the evacuation was of limited scope and would happen in a gradual way after plans were approved by the Israeli government.

He said the operation was part of the endeavour to dismantle Hamas saying that it had shown its ability to launch attacks from the city by firing rockets from Rafah yesterday, killing three Israeli soldiers near the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Israel has since carried out air strikes in Rafah overnight. Seven months into its offensive against Hamas, Israel has said that victory is impossible without taking the city.

But with more than one million displaced Palestinians sheltering there, Western powers and neighbouring Egypt have raised fears that there could be high numbers of civilian casualties.

Image source, .

The Israeli military says it is carrying out a “limited scope operation in the eastern part of Rafah” which will affect around 100,000 people.

The IDF says its operation is “not a wide-scale evacuation” of the southern Gazan city.

Let's bring you more from the Israeli military now, who says it is encouraging residents in Rafah's eastern neighbourhoods to make their way toward an "expanded humanitarian zone."

"The expanded humanitarian zone includes field hospitals, tents and increased amounts of food, water, medicine and other supplies," the IDF says.

"In accordance with the approval of the government, an ongoing situation assessment will guide the gradual movement of civilians in the specified areas in eastern Rafah, to the humanitarian area," a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, read.

Marita Moloney
Live editor

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage.

You join us as Israel's military has started what it is calling a "limited and temporary" evacuation of civilians from parts of eastern Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than 1.4 million people have sought refuge.

About 100,000 people in the eastern part of the city, closest to the Israeli border, are being urged to move to expanded humanitarian zones in the al-Mawasi and Khan Younis areas.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) says tents, food, water, and medication are available.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that a military operation in Rafah is necessary to defeat Hamas's remaining fighters, but there has been widespread international concern over the fate of the civilians sheltering there.

It comes as talks aimed at securing a ceasefire deal in Gaza and the release of hostages have stalled.

Our teams in London and across the Middle East will be bringing you live updates and analysis throughout the day, so stay with us.