Israel’s War on Gaza: Palestinians Killed as Israel Continues to Bomb Rafah as Hamas Accepts Truce Deal
Israel’s War on Gaza: Palestinians Killed as Israel Continues to Bomb Rafah as Hamas Accepts Truce Deal
Israel’s War on Gaza
- Hamas said it accepted mediated proposals for a ceasefire agreement that involves three phases and includes the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, a return of displaced Palestinians to their homes as well as an exchange of Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners.
- The Israeli cabinet said it is sending a delegation to continue talks in Cairo, but also signalled it is moving ahead with attacks on Rafah as bombing of the southern city in Gaza increased overnight.
- Protesters held demonstrations in multiple Israeli cities to demand that the authorities accept a ceasefire deal and bring back some 130 captives still believed to be held in Gaza.
- Iran welcomed the Hamas stance, saying it supports the plan that includes a sustainable ceasefire, exchange of prisoners, withdrawal of Israeli troops and reconstruction of Gaza. The US said it is still “reviewing” the proposals and will not get into details.
- The Hamas announcement came hours after the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of 100,000 Palestinians from Rafah to make way for what it called a “limited” military operation in a city where 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering.
Palestinians killed as Israel continues to bomb Rafah
Gaza’s Civil Defence announced on its Telegram channel that its crews are “still recovering a number of [dead] and injured people” from under the rubble of a house hit by Israeli warplanes a short while ago.
It added that it was able to control a fire that broke out after the strike.
Four killed in Israeli air attack on eastern Rafah: Report
An Israeli attack on a house in eastern Rafah has killed four people, news outlet the Palestinian Information Center reports.
It said that the Israeli bomb struck the Al-Hams family’s home in the al-Geneina neighbourhood of the city in southern Gaza.
The Israeli military is carrying out a relentless bombardment of Rafah from land and air, claiming it is striking Hamas targets in the city. Earlier we reported that at least eight people were killed in two other strikes on homes in the city.
At least eight killed so far in Israeli bombardment of Rafah: Wafa
At least eight people have been killed in Rafah, the Wafa news agency reports, as the Israel military continues its assault on the city in southern Gaza.
The Israeli military has killed five people and injured more after bombing a house in the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood in the west of Rafah, according to Wafa.
The Israeli military has also killed at least three people, including a child, after bombing a house belonging to the Abu Amra family in western Rafah.
There were celebrations in Gaza on Monday after Hamas said it had accepted an Egyptian- and Qatari-brokered deal.
But the Israeli prime minister’s office released a statement saying the “proposal is far from Israel’s requirements” and it will “continue the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas”.
Israeli war cabinet decides to send negotiators for talks, continue Rafah operation
Following Hamas’s acceptance of a ceasefire proposal put forward by Egypt and Qatar, families of captives in Gaza say the Israeli government must show their commitment to its citizens by accepting the deal and getting their loved ones home.
The Israeli prime minister’s office has released a statement saying that the “Hamas proposal is far from Israel’s requirements”, but it will send a delegation to Cairo to continue negotiations.
The statement added that Israel will “continue the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas”.
UN concerned about Rafah invasion
The concerns of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have been echoed by the Office for Humanitarian Affairs and the High Commissioner for Human Rights here.
They all say that an evacuation or ground operation would just be impossible to carry out because there’s no place safe for people to go in Gaza.
They point out that people are being asked to relocate to an area that is already overcrowded, doesn’t have adequate services, and that evacuation corridors are likely to have mines and unexploded ordnance in them.
Military action in Rafah would also cripple humanitarian operations, another concern for the UN.
(With inputs from AL JAZEERA)