Hamas accepts ceasefire offer; Israel says it will negotiate but tanks enter Rafah

Jerusalem: Hamas announced overnight that it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal, but Israel said the woody did not conscionable its “core demands” and that it was pushing up with an battle connected Rafah.

The high-stakes diplomatic moves and subject brinkmanship near a glimmer of anticipation live – but lone hardly – for an accord that could bring astatine slightest a intermission successful the seven-month-old warfare that has devastated the Gaza Strip.

Smoke rises pursuing an Israeli airstrike successful Rafah’s east.Credit: AP

Hanging implicit the wrangling was the menace of an all-out Israeli battle connected Rafah, a determination the United States powerfully opposes and that assistance groups pass volition beryllium disastrous for immoderate 1.4 cardinal Palestinians taking refuge there.

Hamas’s abrupt acceptance of the ceasefire woody aboriginal connected Tuesday (AEST) came hours aft Israel ordered an evacuation of immoderate 100,000 Palestinians from eastbound neighbourhoods of Rafah, signalling an penetration was imminent.

Israel’s War Cabinet decided to proceed the Rafah operation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bureau said. At the aforesaid time, it said that portion the connection Hamas agreed to “is acold from gathering Israel’s halfway demands”, it would nonstop negotiators to Egypt to enactment connected a deal.

The Israeli subject said it was conducting “targeted strikes” against Hamas successful eastbound Rafah. Soon after, Israeli tanks entered Rafah, reaching arsenic adjacent arsenic 200 metres from Rafah’s crossing with neighbouring Egypt, a Palestinian information authoritative and an Egyptian authoritative said. Both spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorised to speech to the press.

The Egyptian authoritative said the cognition appeared to beryllium constricted successful scope. He and Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV said Israeli officials informed the Egyptians that the troops would retreat aft completing the operation. The scope of the cognition could not beryllium independently verified.

Israeli airstrikes besides deed elsewhere successful Rafah connected Tuesday (AEST), sidesplitting astatine slightest 5 people, including a kid and a woman, infirmary officials said.

US President Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu and reiterated American concerns astir an penetration of Rafah. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said American officials were reviewing the Hamas effect “and discussing it with our partners successful the region”. An American authoritative said the US was examining whether what Hamas agreed to was the mentation signed disconnected to by Israel and planetary negotiators oregon thing else.

It was not instantly known if the connection Hamas agreed to was substantially antithetic from 1 that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed the militant radical to judge past week, which Blinken said included important Israeli concessions.

Egyptian officials said that connection called for a ceasefire of aggregate stages starting with a constricted hostage merchandise and partial Israeli unit pullbacks wrong Gaza. The 2 sides would besides negociate a “permanent calm” that would pb to a afloat hostage merchandise and greater Israeli withdrawal retired of the territory, they said.

Hamas sought clearer guarantees for its cardinal request of an extremity to the warfare and implicit Israeli withdrawal successful instrumentality for the merchandise of each hostages, but it wasn’t wide if immoderate changes were made.

Israeli leaders person repeatedly rejected that trade-off, vowing to support up their run until Hamas is destroyed aft its October 7 onslaught connected Israel that killed astir 1200 radical and triggered the war.

Netanyahu is nether unit from hard-line partners successful his conjugation who request an onslaught connected Rafah and could illness his authorities if helium signs onto a deal. But helium besides faces unit from the families of hostages to scope a woody for their release.

Thousands of Israelis rallied astir the state calling for an contiguous agreement. About a 1000 protesters swelled adjacent the defence office successful Tel Aviv, wherever constabulary tried to wide the road. In Jerusalem, astir a 100 protesters marched toward Netanyahu’s residence with a banner reading, “The humor is connected your hands”.

Israel says Rafah is the past important Hamas stronghold successful Gaza, and Netanyahu said that the violative against the municipality was captious to ensuring the militants can’t rebuild their subject capabilities.

The looming cognition has raised planetary alarm. Aid agencies person warned that an violative volition bring a surge of much civilian deaths successful an Israeli run that has already killed 34,000 radical and devastated the territory. It could besides wreck the humanitarian assistance cognition based retired of Rafah that is keeping Palestinians crossed the Gaza Strip alive, they say.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called the evacuation bid inhumane.

“Gazans proceed to beryllium deed with bombs, disease, and adjacent famine. And today, they person been told that they indispensable relocate yet again,” helium said. “It volition lone exposure them to much information and misery.”

Israeli leaflets, substance messages and vigor broadcasts ordered Palestinians to evacuate eastbound neighbourhoods of Rafah, informing that an onslaught was imminent and anyone who stays “puts themselves and their household members successful danger”.

The subject told radical to determination to an Israel-declared humanitarian portion called al-Mawasi, a makeshift campy connected the coast. It said Israel has expanded the size of the portion and that it included tents, food, h2o and tract hospitals.

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About 450,000 displaced Palestinians are already sheltering successful al-Mawasi.

The UN bureau for Palestinian refugees, known arsenic UNRWA, said it has been providing them with aid. But conditions are squalid, with fewer sanitation facilities successful the mostly agrarian area, forcing families to excavation backstage latrines.

AP, Reuters

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