To the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported this Monday that they bombed more than 50 targets of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the Rafah region, in south of the Gaza Stripin the last few hours.
The bombings were directed at “terrorist sites” located in the extreme south of the Palestinian enclave in preparation for the entry of Israeli ground forces into eastern Rafah, according to the Army’s military spokesman, Daniel Hagari.
This Monday morning, the IDF issued an evacuation order for the eastern Rafah region, affecting around one hundred thousand people, in the first step of a large-scale offensive against the region, where more than 1, 2 million displaced people.
A correspondent for the France Presse agency (AFP) described incessant shelling in the late afternoon in Rafah, after Hamas announced that it had accepted a proposal presented by Egypt and Qatar for a ceasefire with Israel in the Gaza Strip.
However, Israel has indicated that it will analyze the ceasefire proposal, but claims that Hamas’ plan has changed in relation to the previously proposed framework, according to a source close to Tel Aviv cited by the Associated Press (AP).
The plan approved by Hamas “is not the framework proposed by Israel”, according to the source, who did not provide further details and who spoke on condition of anonymity, justifying that the Israeli authorities are still preparing a formal response.
Agreement accepted by Hamas includes truce in three phases and release of hostages
The truce proposal accepted by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas includes a three-phase ceasefire and the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip, but will still have to be approved by Israel, according to sources close to the talks.
The proposal presented by Egypt and Qatar also envisages the return of displaced people to their homes, according to the Qatari television channel Al-Jazeera and the Egyptian state television station Al-Qahera News, very close to the North African country’s secret services.
From the first day of the ceasefire, Hamas would release three hostages every three days, while Israel would release “a corresponding number of Palestinian prisoners”, yet to be agreed.
In turn, member of the Hamas political leadership Jalil al-Haya told Al-Jazeera that the second phase of the agreement includes “the permanent end of military operations” by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
For several months now, Egypt and Qatar have been mediating talks between Israel and Hamas, seeking to find a solution to the war triggered by the Islamist movement’s attack on Israeli territory on October 7 last year, which has since been followed by retaliation in large scale of Tel Aviv forces in the Gaza Strip.
