.Hamas accepts truce agreement. The leader of the Islamist group, Ismail Haniyeh, informed Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel “of the movement’s approval of their proposal on the ceasefire agreement”. Haniyeh called the two leaders directly on the phone, a Hamas statement announced on Telegram.
Scenes of joy and shots in the air in Rafah after Hamas’s yes to the ceasefire. Journalists on site confirmed this.
“The ball is now in Israel’s court.” This was said by a Hamas representative quoted by the international media after leader Ismail Haniyeh made it known that the Islamic faction “accepts” the mediation proposal from Qatar and Egypt on the ceasefire in Gaza.
A few hours earlier the group had announced a suspension of the negotiations in Cairo. “We have decided to suspend ceasefire negotiations after consulting with the rest of the Palestinian factions,” a Hamas source told Skynews Arabia.
“The decision is to postpone the return of the negotiating delegation to Cairo pending reports on the efforts of the mediators”, reports Skynews on possibility of containing the crisis”.
And in the meantime “thousands” of Rafah residents are leaving the eastern part of the city which is located in the south of the Gaza Strip. This was stated by the Palestinian Red Crescent after Israel began bombing the two neighborhoods of Rafah which it had previously ordered to evacuate.
Egyptian state broadcaster Al Qahera showed live images of violent Israeli raids on eastern Palestinian Rafah and residents being evacuated by Israeli troops.
The Israeli War Cabinet last night unanimously approved the Rafah operation, for which the army has prepared the plans. This was reported by the media according to which, once the population has been evacuated in an action defined by the IDF as “limited and temporary”, the military operation should begin within a few days. “If Hamas accepts an agreement” the preparations for the attack on Rafah “could be stopped”, However, a senior Israeli official said, quoted by Ynet, adding that everything “is reversible”.
For its part, Hamas said the ground operation in Rafah will not be a “picnic” for Israeli forces. “Our courageous resistance, led by the al Qassam Brigades, is fully prepared to defend our people.”
The Palestinian group also “launched an appeal to the international community to act urgently to stop Israel’s incursion, which threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians.”
And official sources from the USA have informed that President Joe Biden had a telephone conversation today with Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu on the situation in Gaza. According to media reports, the conversation between Biden and Netanyahu lasted about half an hour.
In the phone call, Biden reiterated U.S. concerns about an invasion of Rafah and said reaching a ceasefire with Hamas was the best way to protect the lives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. This was reported by sources from the US National Security Council. The US president has also
asked Netanyahu to immediately reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing, closed yesterday after the Hamas attack which killed 4 soldiers. The Axios website made this known, citing a US source.
The White House, reporting the content of the meeting. said Biden “reiterated his clear position on Rafah,” while Netanyahu “agreed to ensure the Kerem Shalom crossing is open for humanitarian assistance to those in need.” and was updated “on efforts to secure agreement on
hostages, also through the talks underway today in Doha, Qatar”.
ANSA Agency Unicef, catastrophic risks for the 600 thousand children of Rafah – News – Ansa.it UNICEF warns that a military siege and incursion into Rafah would pose catastrophic risks to the 600,000 children currently sheltering in the enclave. (HANDLE)A senior Egyptian source said that “security on the border line between Egypt and the Gaza Strip has been strengthened with sufficient forces, and the Rafah crossing is safe and ready to face a Rafah invasion in the next few hours”, stressing that ” Egypt is fully prepared for possible invasion.”
An official source in the North Sinai Governorate revealed that there is a willingness to accept a certain number of Palestinians in the event of forced displacement towards Egypt and to temporarily settle them in any available area near the border.
Meanwhile, some aid trucks traveling to the Strip have returned to the Egyptian side.
Gallant, ‘Hamas left no other choice’
Hamas left “no choice but to begin the operation” in Rafah. According to his office, quoted by the media, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said this to his US counterpart Lloyd Austin. In the conversation, Gallant added that “Israel is doing everything to arrive at a draft for the release of the hostages and a temporary ceasefire”, but “at this stage Hamas rejects any proposal that would allow this”.
‘A temporary operation’
A “temporary” and “limited scope” operation. This is how the Israeli army described the start of the operation to move civilians from the eastern part of Rafah to the south of the Strip. “We have started a limited-scale operation for the temporary evacuation of people who – said a military spokesperson – live in eastern Rafah”. According to some data, there are currently hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians in the city area.
The evacuation from eastern Rafah involves 100,000 people
The Israeli army announced it is evacuating around 100,000 people from eastern Rafah, ahead of a planned ground assault on the southern Gaza Strip city. “The estimate is around 100,000 people,” a military spokesman told reporters when asked how many people would be evacuated. According to the World Health Organization, around 1.2 million people are currently taking refuge in Rafah.
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