Online Desk : Hamas has said that it had accepted a Gaza ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar, report AFP and Reuters.

The Islamist faction said in a statement that its chief, Ismail Haniyeh, had informed Qatar`s prime minister and Egypt`s intelligence chief of its acceptance of their proposal.

There were no immediate details over what the agreement entailed.

A senior Hamas official said Israel must now decide whether it accepts or "obstructs" a truce in Gaza.

"After Hamas agreed to the mediators` proposal for a ceasefire, the ball is now in the court of Israeli occupation, whether it will agree to the ceasefire agreement or obstruct it," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly about the negotiations.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden "reiterated his clear position" to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Israel defied US warnings and told Palestinians to evacuate part of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, the White House said.

Mr Netanyahu "agreed to ensure the Kerem Shalom crossing is open for humanitarian assistance for those in need," it added in a readout of their call, after Israel closed the key Gaza border crossing following a Hamas rocket attack.

Israel had told Palestinians to evacuate parts of Rafah in what appeared to be preparation for a long-threatened assault on Hamas holdouts in the southern Gaza city, where more than a million war-displaced people have been sheltering.

A senior official of Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that governs Gaza, said the evacuation order was a "dangerous escalation that will have consequences".

"The US administration, alongside the occupation, bears responsibility for this terrorism," the official, Sami Abu Zuhri, said, referring to Israel`s alliance with Washington.

Israel`s military said it had begun encouraging residents of Rafah to evacuate in a "limited scope" operation.

It gave no specific reasons, nor did it say if any offensive action might follow.

"It has been raining heavily and we don`t know where to go. I have been worried that this day may come, I have now to see where I can take my family," one refugee in Rafah, said.

Witnesses said the areas in and around Rafah to which Israel wants to move people are already crowded and there is almost no room for more tents to be added.

An Israeli offensive in Rafah "would be devastating for 1.4 million people" sheltering there, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on X, adding it would keep a presence in Rafah as long as possible to provide aid.

Seven months into its war against Hamas, Israel has been threatening to launch incursions in Rafah, which it says harbours thousands of Hamas fighters and potentially dozens of hostages. Victory is impossible without taking Rafah, it says.

The prospect of a high-casualty operation worries Western powers and neighbouring Egypt.