CONSTANT SHELLING REPORTED IN GAZAN CITY OF RAFAH AS THOUSANDS FLEE

 People in the southern Gaza city of Rafah say Israeli shelling continues, with tanks massed near built-up areas.

1. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says 80,000 people have left the area since Monday, when Israel warned people to evacuate
2. On Wednesday night, President Joe Biden said the US would not supply weapons to Israel for a major offensive in Rafah
3. Biden says if Israeli troops enter the densely-packed city "we're not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells"
4. Israel's far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir condemns the move, writing on X: "Hamas Loves Biden"
5. Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron says the UK would not support an offensive in Rafah without "a very clear plan for how to protect people".

6. UK should follow US weapons threat, MP says

   

   EPACopyright: EPA

   Military vehicles gather in southern Israel, near the Gaza borderImage caption: Military vehicles gather in southern Israel, near the Gaza border

   The UK should follow the US in threatening to withdraw military aid to Israel if they begin a ground offensive in Rafah, a Conservative MP has told the BBC.

   Speaking to the World at One programme, James Sunderland said the UK needs to review what it is supplying to the country.

   Israel's "right to self-defence comes with responsibility", he added.

   "The Israelis have been suffering from this proscribed terrorist organisation for a long time. But unchecked anger is a dangerous thing and what the Israelis need to do is remove Hamas as a military, terrorist threat," he said.

   He went on to say that Israel must not do this by targeting civilians.

7. Netanyahu shares speech he gave saying 'no pressure will stop Israel defending itself'

   

   ReutersCopyright: Reuters

   Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shared a video of a speech he delivered on Holocaust Remembrance Day, in which he says no international pressure "will stop Israel defending itself".

   In the video clip, which is in English and shared on X, the PM says: "Eighty years ago, in the Holocaust, the Jewish people were totally defenceless against those who sought our destruction. No nation came to our aid. Today, we again confront enemies bent on our destruction.

   "I say to the leaders of the world: no amount of pressure, no decision by any international forum, will stop Israel from defending itself."

   The post comes after President Biden's warned that the US would not supply weapons to Israel for a major offensive in Rafah.

8. THIS AND MORE UPDATES AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-68981909