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Israel launched attacks on the Gazan city of Rafah throughout the night to “press” Hamas ahead of Tuesday’s negotiations in Egypt to finalize a cease-fire deal that the militants had approved.
Following weeks of vows to advance into the southern border town, Israel demanded on Monday that Palestinians living in eastern Rafah evacuate to an “extended humanitarian area” in anticipation of an onslaught by land.
An AFP correspondent in the city reported hearing gunfire all night long, and the Kuwaiti hospital there updated its death toll on Tuesday, reporting that eleven Israeli attacks had claimed lives and injured numerous others.
Following a day of discussions that ended without a deal, Hamas announced on Monday night that it had notified mediators Egypt and Qatar of its “approval of their proposal regarding a ceasefire” in the seven-month-old conflict. This news sent jubilant crowds onto the streets of Rafah.
The proposal “is far from Israel’s essential demands,” according to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but the government will send negotiators for negotiations “to exhaust the potential for agreeing.
In the meantime, it stated, “Israel is continuing the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas to advance the release of our hostages and the other objectives of the war”.
Shut up The US, an ally of Israel, declared that it was “reviewing” the Hamas response.
According to Hamas member Khalil al-Hayya, the proposal that Hamas accepted contained a three-phase truce, as reported by the Qatar-based news station Al Jazeera.
He stated that it aims for a “permanent ceasefire” and entails a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the repatriation of Palestinians who have been displaced by the conflict, and a hostage-prisoner exchange.
In the “hope that the talks will culminate in reaching an agreement for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza strip,” Qatar announced on Tuesday morning that it was sending a delegation to Cairo to restart negotiations.
Speaking to AFP under anonymity, a senior Hamas official stated that Israel must now choose whether to “obstruct” or negotiate a truce.
Source- AFP
