The IDF forces “are now attacking and operating in a targeted manner against targets of the terrorist organization Hamas in the eastern area of Rafah“. Thus the spokesperson of the Israeli army, Daniel Hagari, on social media X The news comes after Hamas announced that it had accepted the proposal put forward by the Arab mediators and that Israel reserved the right to examine it and on which an official response is awaited.
Palestinian media confirm the news of a series of Israeli attacks launched on neighborhoods in the eastern area of Rafah, affected today by an evacuation order issued by the IDF. According to the Times of Israel, it is not immediately clear whether this is the start of ground operations in the area.
The new proposal accepted by Hamas, the details and Israel’s reaction
That of the Arab mediators is a new proposal in all respects. According to Arab and Israeli media reports, the first phase would see a six-week ceasefire and the release of 33 living hostages – women, children, the elderly and the sick – in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Sources cited by al-Arabiya claim that the agreement also provides for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from central Gaza in the first phase and the halt of military operations in the skies of Gaza for 10 hours a day.
The Hamas leader, Khalil al-Hayya, he explained to al-Jazeera, that this phase would also include the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes and an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza, particularly fuel and relief materials. However, according to al-Hayya, 50 Palestinian prisoners would be freed for every woman still in Hamas hands who would be released.
In the second phaseThe Palestinian movement would release male prisoners for an undetermined number of Palestinian prisoners, the Hamas leader added. There third phase of the agreement would provide for the launch of a reconstruction plan for Gaza for a period of three to five years. Other sources cited by Sky News Arabia claim that in the second phase there would be a permanent interruption of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The green light from Hamas, Israel evaluates but warns
The official announcement of the green light was given by the head of the political office of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, who informed the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, and the head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamal , of the Palestinian movement’s yes to the proposal of the two Arab countries for a ceasefire, Hamas reported in a statement. “The ball is in Israel’s court,” declared an official of the Islamist organization, who said it had accepted the proposal of the two countries after having “received guarantees from the United States to reach a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israel from Gaza at the end of the third and final phase of the agreement,” a source from the group told the Saudi channel Asharq.
“The mediators told us that US President Joe Biden is clearly committed to ensuring the implementation of the agreement,” Khalil al-Hayya, the Hamas leader’s deputy, later told al-Jazeera. According to Sinwar’s number two, the agreement provides that “on the first day of the first phase” there will be “a clear commitment to temporarily suspend military operations”. Al-Hayya reported that “the proposal includes, in its second phase, the announcement of the permanent cessation of military operations” in Gaza. “We are waiting for the occupiers’ response to our approval of the ceasefire proposal,” he concluded.
However, according to what an Israeli political source quoted by Sky News Arabia reports, Hamas has given the OK to a ‘modified’ ceasefire proposal from Egypt and, therefore, not to the version on which there would be general consensus on the part of the Jewish state. Israeli sources told Ynet News that the Egyptian and Qatar ceasefire proposal accepted by Hamas is unilateral, does not involve Israel and is not acceptable. However, Israeli negotiators are examining it: the answer should arrive by this evening, the Jewish state media report.
“It’s the usual trick, it’s not true that Hamas has accepted” the mediators’ proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat declared while meeting journalists in Rome. The news comes on the day the Israeli government unanimously approved the launch of the military offensive on Rafah.
“There is only one response to Hamas’s tricks: an immediate order to conquer Rafah, increase military pressure and continue to crush Hamas until its complete defeat,” Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben writes on Gvir.
