The US does not believe Israel’s latest actions in Rafah crossed a US red line, White House national security spokesman John Kirby has said.

Mr Kirby told reporters that the US was not turning a “blind eye” to the suffering of Palestinians, with his remarks coming just hours after Israeli tanks were seen in  the centre of Gaza’s southernmost city.

US President Joe Biden warned Israel against launching a major military operation in Rafah, but his administration insisted on Tuesday that Israeli Defence Forces had not yet crossed its red lines.

“We have not seen them smash into Rafah,” said the US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

Mr Biden earlier this month said he would limit weapons supplies to Israel if it entered the “population centres” of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are still believed to be sheltering.

Israel drew international condemnation for an airstrike and fire in an area crowded with refugee tents that Gaza health authorities said killed at least 45 Palestinians – many of them women, children, or elderly – at a camp for displaced people on Sunday.

Israel has said the strike targeted and killed two senior Hamas officials, and that it believes the fire could have been caused by an explosion at a Hamas weapons store nearby.  

“The Israelis have said this is a tragic mistake,” Mr Kirby said.  

Follow the latest updates below