Editorial: The Guardian

• Israel ordered 100,000 people in the city of Rafah to flee and took control of the Palestinian side of the crossing with Egypt, closing off aid supplies.
• Hopes of a deal have been repeatedly raised and dashed, with differing accounts of what Hamas specifically agreed to.
• Polling suggests that while most Israelis prioritise a deal to release hostages over military action in Rafah, that is reversed among the right-wing voters on whom Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's future rests.
• The Biden administration is desperate to close a conflict that threatens further regional escalation and is costing it precious domestic support in an election year.
• The consequences of airstrikes and the seizure of the crossing by Israel are severe. Humanitarian relief is grotesquely inadequate and famine has taken hold.

Conclusion: Understanding what is happening in Gaza is more essential than ever, as an intensification of the operation threatens to vastly increase the disaster. The cost of failure rises every day.

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