Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday insisted there was no "humanitarian catastrophe" in Rafah, even as hundreds of thousands fled the south Gaza city amid intense fighting.
Hamas, meanwhile, insisted it would take part in any decision on the postwar government of Gaza as Palestinians marked the 76th anniversary of the "Nakba," when around 760,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes during the 1948 creation of Israel.
Israeli forces have bombed Hamas militants around Gaza's far-southern city of Rafah, but clashes have also flared again in northern and central areas that Israeli troops first entered months ago.