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Rishi Sunak is “deeply concerned” about a potential Israeli offensive in the city of Rafah in the south of Gaza.

It comes after Israel’s military told Palestinians to leave parts of the city, with the announcement appearing to signal a long-threatened Israeli ground invasion is imminent.

Hamas accepts ceasefire deal proposed by mediators – follow live

Speaking on Monday, Mr Sunak said: “I’ve been very consistent that we are deeply concerned about the prospect of a military incursion into Rafah, given the number of civilians that are sheltering there and the importance of that crossing for aid.

“I’ve made those points repeatedly to Prime Minister Netanyahu.

“The priority right now should be on all parties, but particularly Hamas, to agree to a deal to release hostages and allow more aid to go in as part of a temporary pause, which will allow us to build a sustainable ceasefire.

“That’s the best way to end the suffering. And that’s what I continue to call on all parties to do.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said an Israeli offensive “must not go ahead”, while shadow foreign secretary David Lammy called for an “immediate ceasefire” and said an Israeli offensive in Rafah “would be catastrophic”.

Israel says Rafah is the last significant Hamas stronghold but had previously paused plans to attack the city in southern Gaza so hostage release negotiations could take place.

However, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant claimed on Sunday that Hamas was not serious about a deal and the army was preparing “a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah”.

On Sunday, Hamas set off rockets from Rafah towards Kerem Shalom, Israel’s main crossing point for delivering aid, killing three Israeli soldiers.

Overnight, Israeli strikes killed at least 19 people, including a baby, according to Palestinian health officials.

Follow live updates from the Israel-Hamas war

Site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Pic: Reuters
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A house in Rafah was hit by Israeli strikes overnight. Pic: Reuters


Israel’s army has told about 100,000 people to evacuate eastern Rafah to a humanitarian zone designated by Israel on the Mediterranean coast.

Rafah, Gaza’s most southern city, on the Egyptian border, is where more than a million people – more than half of Gaza’s population – have taken refuge during the war that began last October.

Joining other Western nations and humanitarian organisations in urging Israel not to strike Rafah, Sir Keir said on social media: “With more than a million Palestinian civilians sheltering in Rafah, an Israeli offensive must not go ahead.

“There must be an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages, and unimpeded aid into Gaza that can be delivered regularly, quickly and safely.”

Read more: Why has Israel’s offensive prompted widespread international condemnation?

People flee the eastern parts of Rafah after the Israeli military began evacuating Palestinian civilians ahead of a threatened assault on the southern Gazan city, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip May 6, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
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People were fleeing Rafah

Mr Lammy wrote: “An Israeli offensive in Rafah would be catastrophic. It must not go ahead.

“We need an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of hostages, and immediate unimpeded aid to Gaza.”

UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron earlier said the UK is “very concerned” about the situation in Rafah and called for Israel to “stop and think seriously” before taking further action.

Charity ActionAid said forcing Palestinians from Rafah “without a safe destination is not only unlawful but would lead to catastrophic consequences”.

They said “there are no safe zones in Gaza” and aid workers have seen some of the “most severe conditions in recent memory” with widespread disease, starvation and chaos.

People in eastern Rafah were told to move to Muwasi, an Israeli-declared humanitarian area near the coast
Image:
People in eastern Rafah were told to move to al Mawasi, an Israeli-declared humanitarian area near the coast

Madeleine McGovern, from Care International UK, said ministers need to urgently suspend licences for arms sales to Israel to prevent an expansion of military operations in Rafah.

“It would be unconscionable for British-made weapons to be used in an assault on Rafah,” she said.

Islamic Relief warned the area where Palestinians have been ordered to move, al Mawasi, is not safe and that forcing more people there will make the humanitarian crisis worse.

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Bitstamp granted MAS license to operate in Singapore

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Bitstamp granted MAS license to operate in Singapore

Bitstamp granted MAS license to operate in Singapore

The license was granted after a new policy from Singapore’s Monetary Authority required all crypto firms based in the country to register.

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IRS division failed to meet standards for seizing crypto, says watchdog

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IRS division failed to meet standards for seizing crypto, says watchdog

IRS division failed to meet standards for seizing crypto, says watchdog

Based on an evaluation between December 2023 and January 2025, the IRS Criminal Investigation did not always follow guidelines around seizing and holding crypto in cases.

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she is ‘totally’ up for the job of chancellor in first comments since tearful PMQs

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she is 'totally' up for the job of chancellor in first comments since tearful PMQs

The chancellor has said she was having a “tough day” yesterday in her first public comments since appearing tearful at Prime Minister’s Questions – but insisted she is “totally” up for the job.

Rachel Reeves told broadcasters: “Clearly I was upset yesterday and everyone could see that. It was a personal issue and I’m not going to go into the details of that.

“My job as chancellor at 12 o’clock on a Wednesday is to be at PMQs next to the prime minister, supporting the government, and that’s what I tried to do.

“I guess the thing that maybe is a bit different between my job and many of your viewers’ is that when I’m having a tough day it’s on the telly and most people don’t have to deal with that.”

Politics latest: PM sets out 10-year NHS plan

She declined to give a reason behind the tears, saying “it was a personal issue” and “it wouldn’t be right” to divulge it.

“People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday. Today’s a new day and I’m just cracking on with the job,” she added.

More on Rachel Reeves

Ms Reeves also said she is “totally” up for the job of chancellor, saying: “This is the job that I’ve always wanted to do. I’m proud of what I’ve delivered as chancellor.”

Pic: PA
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Reeves was seen wiping away tears during PMQs. Pic: PA

Asked if she was surprised that Sir Keir Starmer did not back her more strongly during PMQs, she reiterated that she and the prime minister are a “team”, saying: “We fought the election together, we changed the Labour Party together so that we could be in the position to return to power, and over the past year, we’ve worked in lockstep together.”

PM: ‘I was last to appreciate’ that Reeves was crying

The chancellor’s comments come after the prime minister told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby that he “didn’t appreciate” that she was crying behind him at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday because the weekly sessions are “pretty wild”, which is why he did not offer her any support while in the chamber.

He added: “It wasn’t just yesterday – no prime minister ever has had side conversations during PMQs. It does happen in other debates when there’s a bit more time, but in PMQs, it is bang, bang, bang. That’s what it was yesterday.

“And therefore, I was probably the last to appreciate anything else going on in the chamber, and that’s just a straightforward human explanation, common sense explanation.”

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Starmer explains to Beth Rigby his reaction to Reeves crying in PMQs

During PMQs, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch branded the chancellor the “human shield” for the prime minister’s “incompetence” just hours after he was forced to perform a humiliating U-turn over his controversial welfare bill, leaving a “black hole” in the public finances.

The prime minister’s watered-down Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill was backed by a majority of 75 in a tense vote on Tuesday evening – but a total of 49 Labour MPs voted against the bill, which was the largest rebellion in a prime minister’s first year in office since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair’s lone parent benefit in 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.

Reeves looks transformed – but this has been a disastrous week for the PM

It is a Rachel Reeves transformed that appears in front of the cameras today, nearly 24 hours since one of the most extraordinary PMQs.

Was there a hint of nervousness as she started, aware of the world watching for any signs of human emotion? Was there a touch of feeling in her face as the crowds applauded her?

People will speculate. But Ms Reeves has got through her first public appearance, and can now, she hopes, move on.

The prime minister embraced her as he walked on stage, the health secretary talked her up: “Thanks to her leadership, we have seen wages rising faster than the cost of living.”

A show of solidarity at the top of government, a prime minister and chancellor trying to get on with business.

But be in no doubt today’s speech on a 10-year-plan for the NHS has been overshadowed. Not just by a chancellor in tears, but what that image represents.

A PM who, however assured he appeared today, has marked his first year this week, as Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby put to him, with a “self-inflicted shambles”.

She asked: “How have you got this so wrong? How can you rebuild trust? Are you just in denial?”

They are questions Starmer will be grappling with as he tries to move past a disastrous week.

Ms Reeves has borne a lot of the criticism over the handling of the vote, with some MPs believing that her strict approach to fiscal rules has meant she has approached the ballooning welfare bill from the standpoint of trying to make savings, rather than getting people into work.

Ms Badenoch also said the chancellor looked “absolutely miserable”, and questioned whether she would remain in post until the next election.

Sir Keir did not explicitly say that she will, and Ms Badenoch interjected to say: “How awful for the chancellor that he couldn’t confirm that she would stay in place.”

Downing Street scrambled to make clear to journalists that Ms Reeves was “going nowhere”, and the prime minister has since stated publicly that she will remain as chancellor “for many years to come”.

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