Despite Hamas accepting a proposal for a truce, Israel said the Rafah operation would go as planned
Even though Hamas accepted a proposal for a truce, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the parameters of the ceasefire are far from matching Israel’s objectives and that the operation in Rafah would go according to schedule.
The plan, according to Netanyahu’s office, “is far from Israel’s essential demands,” but it would send negotiators to Cairo “to exhaust the potential for arriving at an agreement” to participate in discussions that are scheduled to start on Tuesday and are intended to result in a solution.
A small invasion into Rafah was planned to put Hamas commanders under pressure to accept a compromise that would result in a truce and captive release, according to people familiar with the proceedings who spoke with US channel CNN.
Crowds who had gathered in the street amid happy tears, jubilant firing in the air, and chanting of “Allahu Akbar” (meaning “God is greatest”) greeted the news with cheering. Families of the hostages and others who stood by them in Israel encouraged the Israeli government to approve the agreement.
“Conducting targeted strikes against Hamas terror targets in eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip,” according to a statement from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
“Israel is persisting with the Rafah operation to apply military coercion to Hamas to progress the liberation of our captives and the additional goals of the conflict,” the IDF said in a statement.
Israel then proceeded to launch nocturnal attacks on the Gazan city of Rafah. According to an AFP report, there was intense bombing all night long, and the Kuwaiti hospital there reported early on Tuesday that Israeli attacks had resulted in five fatalities and several injuries.
“Aircraft targeted more than 50 terror targets in the Rafah area” throughout the day, according to Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari. Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas, stated on Monday night that it had retaliated by firing rockets from Gaza into southern Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forewarned by US President Joe Biden not to invade Rafah, while his government said that it was examining a reaction from Hamas.
According to Hamas member Khalil al-Hayya, the plan that Hamas accepted contained a three-phase ceasefire, as reported by the Qatar-based news station Al Jazeera.
In order to achieve a “permanent ceasefire,” he claimed that it entails a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the repatriation of Palestinians who have been displaced by the conflict, and a hostage-prisoner exchange.
Concern about the potential repercussions of an Israeli ground assault on Rafah, which is located near Egypt’s border, has been progressively growing on a global scale. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday that an entry into the city would be “intolerable” and urged Israel and Hamas “to go the extra mile” to achieve a truce agreement.
“A ground invasion in Rafah would be intolerable due to its devastating humanitarian consequences and its destabilizing impact in the region,” Guterres said. “This is an opportunity that cannot be missed.” The foreign ministry of Egypt called on Israel to “exercise the utmost restraint” and forewarned of “grave humanitarian risks” for the more than a million Gazans seeking refuge there. In a meeting on Monday, Jordan’s King Abdullah II requested that US President Joe Biden step in to put an end to a “new massacre” in Rafah.
