section_path: War in Israel and Gaza/Beginning of the Rafah offensive (May–July 2024)
section_name: Beginning of the Rafah offensive (May–July 2024)
paragraph_text: Beginning of the Rafah offensive (May–July 2024)
  
  On 6 May, the IDF ordered 100,000 civilians in eastern Rafah to evacuate to Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Yunis. Later that day, Hamas announced that it had accepted the terms of a ceasefire brokered by Egypt and Qatar. The deal included a 6-week ceasefire and exchange of prisoners. However, Israel rejected this deal. Israel said that it found the terms unacceptable, but that it would continue to negotiate while the military operation on Rafah was ongoing to "exert military pressure on Hamas". On 31 May, the United States announced a ceasefire framework for ending the war.
  
  The same day, the IDF entered the outskirts of Rafah, seizing control of the Gaza side of the Rafah Crossing to Egypt the following day. On 11 May, the IDF ordered more residents to evacuate eastern and central Rafah. By 15 May, an estimated 600,000 had fled Rafah and another 100,000 from the north, according to the United Nations.
  
  On 24 May, the United Nations said only 906 aid truckloads had reached Gaza since Israel's Rafah operation began. Israel bombed the Tel al-Sultan displacement camp in Rafah on 26 May, killing at least 45 people, allegedly including two senior Hamas officials. This provoked a skirmish between Egyptian and Israeli soldiers at the Gaza border in which one Egyptian soldier was killed. Less than 48 hours afterwards, another evacuation zone, the Al-Mawasi refugee camp, was bombed, killing at least 21 people. The IDF denied involvement in the attack.
  
  On 6 June, Israel bombed a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing dozens. Two days later, Israel conducted an attack on Nuseirat refugee camp which resulted in the rescue of four hostages and the deaths of 274 Palestinians. On 27 June, Israeli forces re-invaded the al-Shuja'iyya neighborhood. According to Middle East Monitor and ReliefWeb, between 4 July and 10 August, Israel attacked 21 schools in Gaza, killing 274 people.