The Israeli government denied that it had agreed to a ceasefire in the southern Gaza Strip to allow humanitarian aid into the Strip and allow some people to leave.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a one-line statement on Monday morning saying "there will be no ceasefire," while Hamas official Izzat el-Resik also told Reuters that the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza He denied this, saying the site remained closed. A temporary ceasefire came into effect.

Egyptian security officials had previously assured aid groups and journalists that an agreement had been reached to open the Rafah border crossing at 9am on Monday. Long lines of trucks laden with humanitarian aid have formed in recent days, waiting to enter the besieged and bombed enclave. Aid officials said some United Nations trucks were allowed to enter the Gaza Strip from Egypt on Monday morning, but most humanitarian supplies remained closed to the area.

Amid a total Israeli blockade and bombing in retaliation for last week's Hamas attack that killed more than 1,300 Israelis, most of them civilians, Gaza is at a standstill with food, water and medical supplies in short supply. is occurring.

The United Nations relief agency Unrwa said one million people had been displaced in the nine days since the Hamas invasion, and the Palestinian Ministry of Health said 2,329 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, returning to Israel after touring Gulf Arab states and Egypt as part of diplomatic efforts, said he would provide humanitarian aid in Gaza and surrounding areas to provide safe haven for civilians. The goal has so far not been achieved. supplies.