US network NBC News brings us some more detail from the White House on what was discussed during negotiations over the opening of the Rafah border crossing.

During negotiations, Hamas said it would allow foreign nationals to leave Gaza if “a number of” wounded Palestinians could leave as well. But upon vetting the list, officials discovered that about a third of the people listed as wounded Palestinians were Hamas fighters, according to a senior administration official.

Originally, Hamas would not allow anyone to leave Gaza, the official added. “That’s what kind of complicated and took a while for it to get worked out,” they said.

The official said that the US, Egypt and Israel rejected that Hamas fighters be allowed to pass through the crossing, pointing to countering Hamas’ demand as a reason for the timing of getting foreign nationals and wounded Palestinians out of Gaza.

Wounded Palestinian civilians who were ultimately able to leave Gaza were not Hamas fighters, the official said, adding later that Qatar and Egypt were “critical” in making this happen.

IDF says several Hamas fighters killed in Gaza

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it killed several Hamas militants inside Gaza yesterday as it continued its operations in the enclave.

It also said three Hamas observation posts were destroyed by Israeli tank fire.

A “targeted raid” in southern Gaza overnight saw IDF soldiers map out buildings and “neutralise explosive devices”, it said in a statement.

“During the operation, the troops encountered a terrorist cell exiting a tunnel shaft. In response, the troops fired shells toward the terrorists and killed them,” it added.

The IDF also released footage – which Sky News has been unable to independently verify – of what it said were tanks and soldiers operating in northern Gaza, as well as monochrome footage of apparent Israeli Air Force strikes on the region.

Nearly 90 British citizens listed to leave Gaza through Rafah crossing today

The Palestinian border authority has published a new list of people permitted to cross into Egypt via the Rafah crossing from today. 

 The list includes 88 British passport holders. 

Some 1,100  people have left Gaza through the crossing since Wednesday under an apparent agreement among the US, Israel and Egypt, as well as Qatar which mediates with Hamas.

Nearly 100 British citizens were on the list to leave yesterday.