Hamas accepts Qatari-Egyptian proposal for Gaza ceasefire: Israelis begin invasion of Rafah
The invasion of Rafah begins
From al -Jazeera
After evacuation order, Israeli army announces strikes on Rafah
The Israeli military says it is currently conducting targeted strikes against targets belonging to Hamas in the eastern part of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The army, in a brief statement, said that more details would follow.
Hamas accepts Qatari-Egyptian proposal for Gaza ceasefire
Israel says it will send a delegation to meet with mediators as leaders approve continuing Rafah military operation.
Hamas says it has approved a proposal for a ceasefire in the seven-month Gaza war put forward by mediators Qatar and Egypt, although Israel said the proposal fell short of its demands.
“Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of Hamas movement, conducted a telephone call with the prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and with the Egyptian intelligence minister, Mr Abbas Kamel, and informed them of Hamas’s approval of their proposal regarding a ceasefire agreement,” the Palestinian group said in a statement published on its official website on Monday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the proposed deal did not meet Israel’s demands and that it would send a delegation to meet with negotiators.
“Although the Hamas proposal is far from Israel’s necessary requirements, Israel will send a working delegation to the mediators to exhaust the possibility of reaching an agreement under conditions acceptable to Israel,” it said in a post on X.
Full details of the proposal were not immediately clear.
Three phases
Khalil al-Hayya, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, told Al Jazeera Arabic that the Qatari-Egyptian proposal includes a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a return of displaced Palestinians to their homes, as well as an exchange of Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners.
The proposal includes a three-stage truce, each phase lasting 42 days, according to al-Hayya.
In the first phase, indirect negotiations through mediators will resume on the exchange of captives and prisoners. A withdrawal of some Israeli troops from certain areas will also take place, as well as the unhindered return of displaced families to their homes, and the flow of aid, fuel and relief materials into Gaza, he said.
In the second phase, al-Hayya said, there would be a complete and permanent halt to military activity in Gaza.
The final phase would focus on beginning reconstruction in post-war Gaza, overseen by Egypt, Qatar, and United Nations agencies, he said.
‘Ball in Israel’s hands,’ ‘very, very tough decision’ for Netanyahu
‘Ball in Israel’s hands,’ ‘very, very tough decision’ for Netanyahu
This is Israel’s response from Zionist media-
"A former Senior Israeli security source told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that the proposed "deal" Hamas said they agreed upon doesn't actually exist.
"This so-called 'deal' is proof that we've just started to apply pressure [on Hamas] by promoting a ground entrance to Rafah, and we suddenly received a green light from Hamas for a prisoner exchange deal and a ceasefire."
The source added that the reported ceasefire deal "is a proposal that no one in the Israeli administration recognizes. It's a proposal Hamas invented. They are playing with us. They are telling the world - 'we agreed to a ceasefire,' to try to prevent Israel from a ground incursion."
From the one sane Israeli in the room, Gideon Levy
Gideon Levy, a columnist with Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, says Hamas “took a brilliant step” that has left Israel “embarrassed”.
“Hamas said very clearly, ‘We agree to a deal,’ which nobody of us knows exactly the details, and now the ball is in Israel’s hands and Israel has to decide,” he told Al Jazeera.
“For Netanyahu, this is a very, very tough decision because he might lose his government. On the other hand, if he says no, it’s very clear that Israel wants war and not the hostages,” Levy said.
The analyst noted the situation has reached “a very critical” stage, at which there is no time for any postponement.
“Netanyahu has to decide what does he prefer: a government that continues to stay in power, God knows what for, … or taking a brave decision, saying yes to the deal, releasing the hostages, putting an end to this war – which didn’t do anything good in Israel and for sure not to the Palestinians – and trying to create a new reality in Gaza,” Levy said.
“That’s his choice. Knowing him, he will not choose the better one.”
This was excellent commentary from someone I did not know about
Netanyahu calls suggestion he torpedoed Cairo hostage-truce talks ‘a complete lie’
PM to meet with CIA chief William Burns in Jerusalem as US attempts to revive negotiations; Israeli official insists Jerusalem believed on Saturday that a deal was possible
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday forcefully rejected a claim made by an Israeli official suggesting that the premier was responsible for torpedoing the latest round of talks with Hamas in Cairo on a potential hostage and truce deal.
The suggestion, said a statement from Netanyahu’s office, is “a complete lie and a deliberate deception of the public.”
“Hamas is the one that sabotages any deal by not moving one millimeter from its extreme demands that no Israeli government could accept,” the statement from Netanyahu’s office continued, “first and foremost, that Israel withdraw from Gaza and end the war.”
UNICEF says 600,000 kids at risk of "catastrophe" in Rafah
The United Nations children's agency has urged against the forced relocation of these vulnerable children after Israel ordered an evacuation of the area ahead of a potential ground invasion
i24NEWS
May 07, 2024
UNICEF has issued a stark warning, indicating that around 600,000 children in Rafah, Gaza, are facing an imminent "catastrophe."
The United Nations children's agency has urged against the forced relocation of these vulnerable children after Israel ordered an evacuation of the area ahead of a potential ground invasion.