Gaza-Egypt border crossing set to reopen as Israeli troops prepare ground assault.

Even though security sources in Egypt said a deal had been struck to allow foreigners to leave the beleaguered Palestinian enclave and supplies to be brought in, Israel claimed on Monday that no truce had been put into effect in southern Gaza.

Residents of Gaza, which Hamas governs, said that the shelling there overnight was the worst one so far in the conflict’s nine days of hostilities.

Two Egyptian security officials said Israel had decided to stop bombing southern Gaza as a humanitarian catastrophe engulfed the region. They predicted that the Rafah border crossing, under Egyptian authority, would reopen so that those with international passports could escape.

However, according to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “there is currently no truce and humanitarian aid in Gaza in exchange for getting foreigners out.”

It was still unclear what was happening at the Rafah crossing.

The Israeli military and the American embassy in Israel were silent, and Hamas representatives did not announce a truce either. Hamas has been launching rockets at Israel since it attacked Israeli citizens a week ago.

Since the Oct. 7 onslaught on Israel by Hamas terrorists that left 1,300 people dead, diplomatic attempts to bring aid into the enclave, which has been the target of intensive Israeli bombardment, have increased.

Israel has also enacted a rigorous embargo to eliminate Hamas and is getting ready for a ground attack.

Authorities in Gaza said that at least 2,750 people had been killed and almost 10,000 injured due to Israeli airstrikes, with 25% of the victims being minors. One thousand more people were missing and thought to be buried under the wreckage.

The secure delivery of hundreds of tons of humanitarian assistance from several nations to Gaza and the evacuation of certain people with foreign passports through the Rafah border have been postponed in Egypt for days.

Americans living in Gaza have been instructed to move closer to the crossing so they may go. Among the 2.3 million people living in the enclave, the U.S. administration thinks that 500 to 600 are dual citizens of Palestine and the United States. Washington is working to evacuate as many of its citizens as possible.