A ceasefire in southern Gaza is said to have been agreed upon following Israeli airstrikes in the region. According to Reuters, the ceasefire was reportedly brokered with the involvement of the US, Israel, and Egypt, beginning at 6am GMT (11:00 am Monday, in Pakistan).
This coincides with the reopening of the Rafah border crossing located in the southern part of Gaza.
However, OSINTdefender, an open-source intelligence monitor, shared on the social media platform X that the ceasefire would only apply to the southern Gaza Strip and would last for five hours.
They also mentioned that there were no discussions or agreements involving Hamas.
On the other hand, the Israeli military claimed it had no knowledge of a ceasefire, and Hamas, speaking to the Arabic language network Asharq News, stated that they had no information about a humanitarian truce.
The Rafah crossing, situated on the border with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, is the only exit from Gaza not controlled by Israel and is the only feasible route out of the enclave as other routes have been blocked.
Egypt has tightly regulated the crossing due to strained relations between Egypt and Hamas.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the reopening of the Rafah crossing and assured that there would be a mechanism to provide necessary assistance to those in need.
However, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied the existence of a ceasefire and mentioned no humanitarian aid arrangements for the Gaza Strip in exchange for allowing foreigners to leave when talking to Newsweek.
The Gaza government information office noted it had not received any communication or confirmation from the Egyptian side regarding the reopening of the Rafah crossing, as reported by Al Araby television channel.
Palestinians residing in Gaza have reported that Israel's airstrikes during the overnight bombardment on Sunday were the most intense since their commencement after the Hamas attack on October 7.
This attack claimed the lives of over 1,300 Israeli citizens, as reported by the Associated Press.
Gaza City has experienced a particularly heavy onslaught with airstrikes impacting areas in proximity to two major hospitals in the city. According to Gaza authorities, the death toll has now risen to 2,670, as noted by Reuters.
In response to the ongoing hostilities, the National Emergency Management Authority of Israel's Ministry of Defence and the Israel Defence Forces have jointly announced a plan for the evacuation of residents in northern Israel.
This evacuation plan will encompass individuals living within a radius of up to 2 kilometres from the Lebanese border.
