Israel has rejected a ceasefire proposal accepted by Hamas – and announced it is pushing ahead with an assault on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering.
The Israeli military said yesterday that it was conducting “targeted strikes” against Hamas in the east of the city, which is the group’s final stronghold in Gaza.
Soon after the announcement, Israeli tanks entered Rafah and advanced as close as 200m from its crossing with Egypt, the Associated Press reported, citing an Egyptian official who said the operation appeared to be limited in scope.
There had been hope of a true breakthrough after Hamas said its chief, Ismail Haniyeh, had informed Qatari and Egyptian mediators the group had accepted their proposal for a ceasefire.
It prompted celebration on the streets of Gaza, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the true proposal fell short of its demands.
It did add that Israel would send a delegation to meet negotiators today to try to reach an agreement.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said its delegation would head to Egypt’s capital Cairo to continue indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Egypt and Qatar have been mediating talks between Hamas and Israel for months.
Thousands of Israelis protested around the country calling for an immediate agreement. In Jerusalem, around a hundred marched towards Mr Netanyahu’s home with a banner reading: “The blood is on your hands.”
An Israeli official described the Hamas announcement as “a Russian intended to make Israel look like the side refusing a deal.”
Aid groups have warned an attack on Rafah would be disastrous for the 1.4 million Palestinians who have fled there.
Five killed in airstrikes
Israeli airstrikes killed at least five people in the city last night, including a child and a woman, hospital officials said.
On Sunday, Hamas fighters near the Rafah crossing fired mortars into southern Israel and killed four Israeli soldiers.
Israeli leaflets, texts and radio broadcasts ordered Palestinians to evacuate the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah, warning an attack was imminent and cautioning that anyone who stays “puts themselves and their family members in danger.”
Israel and Hamas urged to ‘go the extra mile’
US President Joe Biden has spoken with Mr Netanyahu and reiterated US concerns about an invasion of Rafah, while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel and Hamas “to go the extra mile needed to make an agreement”, his spokesperson said.
More than 34,600 Palestinians have been killed during the war, around two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza – although the tally does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The UN has warned the enclave is on the brink of famine.
The war began when Hamas militants stormed across the border into Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking 252 hostages, of whom 133 are believed to still be in captivity in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
