Israel launched airstrikes on eastern Rafah after ordering the evacuation of 100,000 Palestinians earlier on Monday, triggering a mass exodus, The Guardian reported.
On Monday evening, the Israeli military claimed it was carrying out targeted strikes against Hamas in Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians took refuge. Israeli tanks were reportedly spotted on the eastern outskirts of Rafah.
Palestinian hospital officials stated that one strike on a house in Rafah late Monday night killed five Palestinians. Twenty-two others were killed in earlier strikes on Monday.
The strikes came after Hamas said it had accepted the mediators’ proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. The group reported that its leader Ismail Haniyeh informed Qatari and Egyptian mediators that Hamas had accepted their ceasefire offer, sparking the first celebrations among Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that the truce offer did not meet Israel’s demands and that his military cabinet approved continuing the Rafah operation. At the same time, Netanyahu’s office claimed that Israel would still send a delegation to meet with negotiators in an attempt to reach an agreement.
An Israeli official stated that it was unclear exactly what offer Hamas had accepted, as some of the terms differed significantly from those presented to Israel by the mediators and agreed to by the Israeli government last week.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained on Tuesday night that “the Hamas offer is very far from meeting Israel’s necessary requirements.”
Last night, with the consent of the War Cabinet, I directed that the IDF act in Rafah. They raised Israeli flags at the Rafah Crossing and took down the Hamas flags. The entry into Rafah serves two of the main objectives of the war: Returning our hostages and eliminating Hamas.
Netanyahu stated that Hamas’ proposal “was designed to torpedo the entry of our forces into Rafah.” He also mentioned an Israeli delegation that travelled to Egypt to continue truce talks.
Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had earlier stressed in a conversation with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant that Israel needed a “credible plan” to evacuate the civilians. Separately, a US spokesman stated that the US was “concerned” by the latest Israeli strikes on Rafah, but “does not believe they represent a major military operation.”
Saudi Arabia reacted furiously to Israel’s order to evacuate Rafah, calling Israel’s war on Gaza a “genocide.” UN officials, including Secretary-General António Guterres, also expressed alarm at the “full-blown famine” taking place in northern Gaza.
The closure of both the Rafah and Kerem Shalom [Karem Abu Salem] crossings is especially damaging to an already dire humanitarian situation. They must be reopened immediately.
