Rafah, May 7 (RHC)-- At least 12 people have been reported killed in attacks on Rafah overnight as the Associated Press news agency reports that Israeli tanks have pushed close to Rafah’s border crossing with Egypt.

All indications point to an imminent invasion of the overcrowded southern Gaza city, where hundreds of thousands have been sheltering from the genocidal aggession against the enclave and were ordered by the Israeli military to evacuate the area on Monday.

Meanwhile, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says the group has accepted a Gaza ceasefire proposal put forward by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says the proposal is far from Israel’s demands but that the Israeli government will send a delegation to Cairo for talks.  Many observers believe Tel Aviv is only going through the moves to make it look like it wants a ceasefire, but that Isreal is determined that the invasion will be carried out.

Israel’s war cabinet also decided that its military would continue operations against Rafah, with the army announcing striking targets in the east of the city.

UN agencies and aid groups warn of devastating consequences of any Israeli military assault on Rafah after Israel ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians to evacuate ahead of attacks.

At least 34,735 people have been killed and 78,108 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive.