Hamas has accepted the Egyptian-Qatari brokered ceasefire proposal. But, Israel has said the deal did not meet its core demands. Rather than accept the proposal, Israel said it would push ahead with an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
However, Israel said it would continue with the negotiations.
Acceptance of the proposal by both parties could have brought a pause to the 7-month-old war that has turned Rafah into a shadow of itself. But there is a threat from Israel that it will attack Rafah. The United States is in opposition to Israel’s position and aid groups have warned that the attack will be disastrous for some 1.4 million Palestinians taking refuge in Rafah.
Hamas’ acceptance came some hours after Israel ordered an evacuation of some 100,000 Palestinians from eastern neighborhoods of Rafah. The evacuation was interpreted as a sign of imminent invasion.
The Israeli military conducted some “targeted strikes” on Rafah. It claimed the attacks were against Hamas elements.
UNICEF says 600,000 children face “catastrophe” as Rafah is attacked
