UN agencies said on Tuesday that the two main crossings into the southern Gaza Strip remain shut, virtually cutting off the enclave from outside aid, with very few stores stationed inside.

Israel sent tanks into Rafah in war-torn Gaza’s far south and took control of the border crossing with Egypt, as ceasefire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife’s edge.

The decision to invite Lockheed Martin and BAE to a government-backed expo has raised questions about the consistency of PM Anwar Ibrahim’s criticism of the Gaza war with the actions of his government.

Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed to a Gaza ceasefire proposal from mediators, but Israel said the terms did not meet its demands.

Bernie Sanders, the longest-serving independent senator in American history, said he will seek a fourth term in an announcement touting his record over 16 years and taking aim at US military funding for Israel.

The Ivy League institution said it would “forego the universitywide ceremony that is scheduled for May 15” and hold a series of smaller events instead.

Aid agencies have warned that the evacuation order will lead to an even worse humanitarian disaster in the crowded coastal enclave of 2.3 million people reeling from seven months of war.

Announcement comes amid fragile Gaza ceasefire talks between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The funding boost, announced by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, comes as concerns rise over threats against Jewish and Muslim communities, fuelled in part by the Israel-Gaza war.

Student protesters at USC abandoned their camp after police surrounded them and threatened activists with arrest. In Boston, Northeastern University’s commencement began peacefully.

Israel’s prime minister denounced a ‘volcano of antisemitism’ and international criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza.

Israel’s military said the crossing was immediately closed; it was unclear how long the closure would remain in effect.

Giving in to Hamas would be a huge victory for the group and Iran, and project a ‘terrible weakness’, PM Netanyahu said, while also ordering the closure of ‘incitement’ news channel Al Jazeera.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the two issues were part of an ‘integrated vision’ for peace in the Middle East and could not be disentangled.

Hamas negotiators are in Egypt to give a response to a proposed ceasefire, but Israel says it will send a delegation only if it sees ‘positive movement’ on a hostage deal.

There has been “significant progress” in negotiations to reach the deal, according to a report by an Egyptian TV channel.

Tens of thousands have been killed. Yet domestic politics are as much a factor as any looming humanitarian disaster for Western and Middle Eastern governments involved in peace talks.

The UN humanitarian office said attacking Rafah would deal a huge blow to the aid operations of entire Gaza.

The Israeli PM’s insistence on invading Rafah is proving a major obstacle to a proposal to halt the fighting for 40 days in return for the release of hostages.

With summer now approaching, Palestinians and relief organisations are increasingly concerned about people living in makeshift shelters that intensify heat rather than protect people from it.

After months of stop-and-start negotiations, the ceasefire efforts appear to have reached a critical stage, with Egyptian and American mediators reporting signs of compromise in recent days.

Israel and Hamas appear to be seriously negotiating an end to the war in Gaza and the return of Israeli hostages. Here’s what’s known so far about the current proposal.

The United Nations said it would take at least until 2040 to restore the homes devastated in Israel’s bombing and ground offensive if the conflict ended today.

Or’s wife, Yonat, was killed in the October 7 Hamas attack, while two of their three children were abducted and then freed as part of the November ceasefire deal.

Ukrainian singer Jerry Heil and rapper alyona alyona spoke about promoting their war-torn country’s music, culture and freedom as they set off to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Adnan Al-Bursh, head of orthopaedics at al-Shifa Hospital, was detained while temporarily working in north Gaza and kept in custody for over 4 months before his death.

The US president says the protests have not made him reconsider his position on the war, but he does not support calls to send in the National Guard.

The predawn police crackdown at UCLA marked the latest flashpoint for mounting tensions on US college campuses, where protests over Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza.