The group Palestinian Hamas He assured this Monday that he had accepted a ceasefire proposal presented by Egypt and Qatar, but Israel He clarified that it is “far from the demands” put forward by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Anyway, They will send delegates to negotiate.
The Islamist faction said in a statement that its head, Ismail Haniyehhad informed the prime minister of Qatar and the head of intelligence Egypt that he had accepted his proposal.
After almost seven months of war, the residents of Rafah celebrated Hamas’ announcement in the streets, amid tears of happiness, chants of “Allahu Akbar” (“God is the greatest”) and shots fired into the air.
For its part, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that the proposal is “very far from Israel’s essential demands,” but that the government will send a delegation to the mediators “to exhaust the possibilities of reaching an agreement.” .
War in Gaza: the terms of the truce that Hamas would have accepted
A senior official in the Palestinian Islamist movement, Jalil al-Hayya, told Al Jazeera that the proposal includes three phaseseach lasting 42 days.
This would include a Complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Striphe return of the displaced and a hostage exchange still held captive in the territory by Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel, with the aim of a “permanent ceasefire”.
Hamas announced in a statement that its leader, Ismail Haniyeh, had informed Egypt and Qatar that the movement “approved his proposal for a ceasefire agreement” in Gaza.
“The ball is now in Israel’s court,” said a Hamas official on condition of anonymity.
It would be the first truce since the week-long pause in November in Gaza
The agreement, if it comes into force, would be the first truce since a week-long pause in fighting in November, and comes after months of failed attempts to stop the fighting to free hostages and allow more aid in. in Loop.
It was feared that the ceasefire talks held in Cairo would have stagnated after Izzat al-Rashiqofficial of Hamaswarned that any Israeli operation in Rafah would jeopardize truce talks.
The city, at the southern end of the Gaza Striphas been the last sanctuary for about half of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants, driven south by the seven-month Israeli assault.
For his part, an Israeli official stated that the truce that Hamas said he had accepted was a “watered down” version of an Egyptian proposal that included “far-reaching” conclusions that Israel can’t accept.
“This appears to be a ruse aimed at making Israel look like the side refusing a deal,” said the Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
War in Gaza: Israel resumed bombing in Rafah
After the announcement of the Islamist movement, the Israeli army carried out heavy bombing in Rafah, where “a limited scope operation to temporarily evacuate residents in the eastern part” of the city began in the morning.
Military spokesman Daniel Hagari reiterated the call to evacuate the area and declared that on Monday “Israeli aviation attacked more than 50 terrorist targets in the Rafah area.”
The evacuation, which according to a military spokesman concerned “about 100,000 people”, is part of “preparation for a ground operation in the area”, Hagari added.
A representative of the Palestinian Red Crescent in eastern Rafah said that “Inhabitants are evacuating in terror, in panic”estimating that the area designated by the Israeli army affects about 250,000 people.
The international community does not cease to show its concern about the invasion of Rafah, which Israel considers essential to “destroy the last four battalions” of the Islamist movement in the Palestinian territory.
The UN estimates that around 1.2 million people live overcrowded in this city bordering Egypt.
