The Gaza Strip crisis: Israel’s anger, Netanyahu’s resignation, and Haniyeh’s pledge to a permanent ceasefire
Over the past few weeks, many Palestinians in Rafah have told NPR they don’t know where to go. Others said they will follow wherever leaflets tell them to flee, even if areas in the past that were meant to be safe were later bombed.
The people of Rafah were told to leave for the humanitarian area north and northwest of the city. Israel’s military sent messages and posted maps on social media, telling people where to flee.
Hamas said its delegation had left Cairo after the talks hit an impasse. The negotiations were described as a crisis by an Israeli official.
On Sunday, as a Hamas delegation was still in Egypt hammering out the deal being offered by Israel, Israel’s government announced the closure of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera news network in Israel. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that it was Hamas that prevented a deal from being made to release hostages.
“We are not ready to accept a situation in which the Hamas battalions come out of their bunkers, take control of Gaza again, rebuild their military infrastructure, and return to threatening the citizens of Israel,” he said, refusing a deal that demands Israeli troop withdrawal and an end to the war.
Meanwhile, senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement Sunday it was approaching the deal with “positive and flexible positions ” but that its priority is “to stop the aggression against our people.”
He said the talks continued to be stuck on key points about troop withdrawal from Gaza, and whether a ceasefire and release of hostages would lead to a permanent ceasefire or temporary truce.
Gaza and Gaza Warfare in the Light of Hamas Constraints and Israel’s Failure in the Marching of a Truce
Four Israeli solders were killed in Hamas rockets at a crossing between Gaza and Israel. Israel increased its attacks on Gaza.
Israel insists an assault on Rafah is necessary to dismantle Hamas battalions operating there. Netanyahu vowed to enter the southern Gaza area with or without a deal with Hamas.
The offensive again raised the risks of an all-out Israeli assault on Rafah, a move the United States strongly opposes and that aid groups warn will be disastrous for some 1.4 million Palestinians taking refuge there.
The operation in Rafah would be limited, Nadav Shoshani said at a press conference. Shoshani would not say if this meant a broader incursion or if it would continue at a later stage.
Israel’s assault on Khan Younis has mainly destroyed the area, as well as fighting with Hamas. Unexploded bombs are also found in the area. Meanwhile, the region of al-Mawasi borders the sea and is lacking basic humanitarian services, including access to health care, water and fuel for generators or power.
The U.S. and the U.N. have in the past weeks tried to discourage Israel from an incursion. Israel’s Defense Minister phoned the U.S. Secretary of Defense to say that there was no choice but to embark on an operation in Rafah.
The strikes may be part of an attempt to get Hamas negotiators to agree to a deal. The Israeli prime minister’s office late in the day said that the latest cease-fire proposal from Hamas was unsatisfactory.
With talks underway, a senior Hamas official said in a text message that the group’s representatives had arrived in Cairo for the talks, “with great positivity” toward the latest proposal.
Israeli officials, offering a hint of hope for a deal, said that their negotiators had reduced the number of hostages they wanted Hamas to release during the first phase of a truce.
The confusion was most evident on Monday when Hamas claimed to have accepted the terms of the truce even as Israel ordered civilians in the southern Gazan city of Rafah to leave.
Israeli leaders have repeatedly rejected that trade-off, vowing to keep up their campaign until Hamas is destroyed after its Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.
The proposal calls for a cease-fire of multiple stages, beginning with a limited hostage release and partial Israeli troop withdrawals within Gaza. The two sides would also negotiate a “permanent calm” that would lead to a full hostage release and greater Israeli withdrawal out of the territory, they said.
An Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson declined to immediately comment on the Israeli seizure. It was warned by Egypt that a seizure of the border would cause Palestinians to flee over it and threaten the 1979 peace deal with Israel.
Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority, acknowledged Israeli forces had seized the crossing and had closed the facility for the time being. He said strikes had targeted the area around the crossing since Monday.
The footage was released by the Israeli military. In the video, Israeli flags were displayed from tanks that took control of the area.
JERUSALEM — An Israeli tank brigade seized control Tuesday of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, authorities said, moving forward with an offensive in the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife’s edge.