Heavy combat is under way on the ground in Gaza’s southern Rafah as Hamas fighters fire rockets and mortars and detonate explosive devices with Israeli troops and tanks pushing deeper into the over-crowded city.

    An estimated 80,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah and thousands more are attempting to leave as Israel military’s ground invasion ramps up.

    The Israeli army takeover of the Rafah border crossing has shut down the entry of aid into Gaza for the past three days, “completely crippling humanitarian operations” as famine spreads, the UN says.

    Israel’s military says it has all the arms it needs for its ground invasion of Rafah after US President Joe Biden said he won’t supply weapons for a full-scale attack on the city.

    At least 34,904 people have been killed and 78,514 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.

    Israeli troops blow up buildings in Rafah, artillery pounds Gaza City

    Israeli forces are carrying out operations to blow up buildings in the east of Rafah city, our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting.

    Intense artillery shelling targeting the Sabra and Zeitoun neighbourhoods of Gaza City has also been reported.

    We will bring you more on the Israeli military attacks on Rafah and Gaza City as information emerges.

    Fierce battles reported between Palestinian fighters, Israeli forces in Rafah

    Israeli forces are conducting operations in several areas of Rafah city, according to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic, while reports are emerging of heavy clashes between Palestinian armed groups and Israel’s military in the east of the city.

    Video footage shared on social media showed a Palestinian family cowering in a residence as the sounds of heavy machine-gun fire and explosions could be heard nearby in what is being described as a “night of fire” in Rafah.

    Al Jazeera Arabic also shared a verified video showing the aftermath of an Israeli attack on Rafah on Thursday.

    Gunfire reported in occupied West Bank as Israeli military night raids continue

    There has been gunfire exchanged between Israeli forces and Palestinian resistance groups in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, the Wafa news agency reports.

    Israeli forces stormed the Rafidia neighbourhood of the city and raided student housing, beating and arresting two students, according to Wafa.

    Israeli raids and settler violence have also been reported elsewhere in the occupied West Bank in the following locations:

•     The city of Hebron and the town of Yatta to the south.
•     The town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron.
•     Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian crops east of Ain al-Hilweh in the northern Jordan Valley, Wafa reports.

    EU crisis management chief condemns arson attack on UNRWA’s Jerusalem HQ

    Janez Lenarcic, the European commissioner for emergency responses, has called on Israeli authorities to ensure the “security and safety of UN staff” after attackers twice set fire to the perimeter of UNRWA headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem.

    Israeli authorities must “prosecute those responsible for the attack”, Lenarcic said.

    UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini reported earlier that a crowd of Israelis, some armed, gathered to chant outside his agency’s office: “Burn down the United Nations”, noting that it took Israeli police and firefighters “a while before they turned up”.

    “Over the past two months, Israeli extremists have been staging protests outside the UNRWA compound in Jerusalem, called by an elected member of the Jerusalem municipality,” Lazzarini said on social media.

    “This week, the protest became violent when demonstrators threw stones at UN staff and at the buildings of the compound,” he said.

    “UN staff, premises and operations should be protected at all times in line with international law,” he added.

    UN to vote on resolution reviving Palestine’s bid for UN membership

    The United Nations General Assembly is expected to vote later today on a resolution that would grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine and that, again, calls on the UN Security Council to favourably reconsider Palestine’s request for full UN membership.

    The US vetoed a widely backed resolution on April 18 that would have paved the way for full UN membership for Palestine, a goal that Israel has worked strenuously to prevent and Washington has been instrumental in blocking on behalf of its key ally.

    The US deputy ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, said on Thursday that the Biden administration remained opposed to Palestinian membership. During the April 18 vote, Palestine’s application received strong support with a vote of 12 in favour, the UK and Switzerland abstaining, and the US alone in voting no.

    The State of Palestine appealed for support on Thursday, saying a vote for UN membership comes at “a critical moment for the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State … [and] rightful place among the community of nations”.

    Netanyahu hopes he and Biden can ‘overcome’ differences

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Joe Biden has made a mistake by pausing a shipment of bombs to Israel, in comments made on the US talk show Dr Phil.

    “I’ve known Joe Biden for many years, 40 years and more. We often had our agreements, but we’ve had our disagreements. We’ve been able to overcome them. I hope we can overcome them now,” Netanyahu said in the interview, aired on Thursday evening.

    Netanyahu added that Israel “will do what we have to do to protect our country”, saying that the country has “no other choice” but to defeat Hamas.