A man rides a horse-drawn cart along a street devastated by Israeli bombings in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 9, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Mohammed Abed | Afp | Getty Images
Israeli forces on Monday launched attacks on the southernmost city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have sought refuge.
“The War Cabinet has unanimously decided that Israel will continue the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas to promote the release of our hostages and the other objectives of the war,” the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement on Monday.
The attacks began hours after Hamas announced it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal brokered by Qatar and Egypt to end the war in Gaza.
“Although the Hamas proposal is far from Israel’s necessary requirements, Israel will send a delegation of working-class mediators to explore the possibility of reaching an agreement on terms acceptable to Israel,” the prime minister’s office said.
Israel’s military advance in Rafah, a key humanitarian transit point, contradicts repeated U.S. warnings to Israel to refrain from such attacks.
“We cannot and will not advocate for IDF operations. But we have made clear our views on operations in Rafah that could potentially put more than a million innocent people at greater risk,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in a White House press conference on Monday.
President Joe Biden delivered the same message Monday during a half-hour phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh speaks to the press as he pays a visit to Palestinian photojournalist Ashraf Amra, a freelancer for Turkey’s leading news agency Anadolu, who was seriously injured in the hand by Israeli army fire while covering a protest demonstration Basaksehir Cam and Sakura City Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey on September 22, 2023.
Cem Tekkesinoglu Anadolu | Getty Images
Last week, the U.S. halted a shipment of weapons to Israel, including 2,000-pound bombs, two senior administration officials confirmed to NBC News.
The White House is also currently reviewing the ceasefire proposal negotiated by Qatar and Egypt and has not yet commented on the plan.
“Of course we will discuss this with Egypt, Qatar and Israel, the three countries we have worked with throughout this negotiation process,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a news conference Monday afternoon. “If these discussions have not yet begun, they will of course continue in the next few hours.”
The proposal would require an exchange of 33 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli hostage released, as well as a permanent halt to Israeli military operations and hostilities in Gaza, a senior Arab source familiar with the proposal told NBC News.
Release of the hostage Negotiations intensified over the weekend, supported by US CIA Director William Burns and mediators from Egypt and Qatar. Burns continued his talks Monday after Hamas’ announcement.
Hundreds of Palestinians, including children, flee eastern neighborhoods after Israel sent leaflets warning them to evacuate Rafah in the Gaza Strip on May 6, 2024.
Ali Jadallah | Anadolu | Getty Images
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2024-05-06 21:02:53
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