Israeli forces push deeper into Rafah; US says truce still possible

Top diplomat Blinken says Hamas wants numerous changes to ceasefire proposal

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Israeli tanks advanced deeper into the western part of Rafah, amid one of the worst nights of bombardment from the air, ground and sea, forcing many families to flee their homes and tents under darkness, after top US diplomat Antony Blinken said an Israel-Hamas truce was still possible.

Residents said on June 13 that Israeli forces thrust towards the AlMawasi area of Rafah near the beach, which is designated as a humanitarian area in all announcements and maps published by the Israeli army since it began its Rafah offensive in May. The Israeli military denied in a statement that it had launched any strikes inside the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone.

Israel said its assault aimed to wipe out Hamas' last intact combat units in Rafah, a city that had sheltered more than a million people before the latest advance began.

Most of those people have now moved north towards Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military said it was continuing "intelligence-based, targeted operations" in Rafah, saying forces in the past day had located weapons and killed Palestinian gunmen in close-range combat.

Over the past day, the military said it had struck 45 targets across the Gaza Strip from the air, including military structures, militant cells, rocket launchers and tunnel shafts.

US Secretary of State Blinken on June 12 said Hamas had proposed