Israel said the terms of a ceasefire proposal that Hamas agreed to on Monday remained “far” from meeting its demands and warned that its military operations in Rafah would continue, even as it sent negotiators to talk to mediators.
In a statement on Monday, Hamas said the head of its political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, told the Qatari prime minister and the Egyptian intelligence minister that the militant group had accepted its proposals for a ceasefire and hostage deal.
Palestinians celebrated that declaration on the streets of Gaza, while in Tel Aviv, the hostages' families and their supporters implored Israel's leaders to accept the deal.
However, shortly afterward, Israel said the terms Hamas had agreed to were still far from meeting its “requirements” and reiterated its commitment to an offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, saying its war cabinet had “unanimously decided” to continue the offensive. operation “to exert military pressure on Hamas.” However, he agreed to send a delegation to the mediators to continue talks.
Later Monday night, the Israel Defense Forces said they were “carrying out targeted strikes against Hamas terrorist targets in eastern Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.” Videos and images obtained by CNN showed multiple explosions in the Rafah area on Monday night.
Barak Ravid, a CNN political and global affairs analyst, said Israeli forces were set to take control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in the coming hours, citing two sources with direct knowledge.
The news comes just hours after Israel ordered Palestinians living in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, to “evacuate immediately.”
The order raised fears that an assault on the city that Israel had long threatened could be imminent. More than a million Palestinians have fled to Rafah, where Hamas is believed to have regrouped following Israel's destruction of much of northern Gaza.
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