Celebration in Gaza: Hamas reportedly agrees to cease-fire

die Islamic Hamas According to his own statements, he has one of them Mediators Egypt and Qatar proposed a cease-fire in Gaza War agreed. The organization made the announcement on Monday evening’s Telegram. According to Israeli sources, this proposal is unacceptable. An insider said it was a “softened” Egyptian draft. It has “far-reaching” conclusions that Israel disagrees with.

Earlier, the head of Hamas’ political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, told the two mediators that Hamas had accepted their proposal for a ceasefire agreement. For this, he spoke to the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, and the head of the Egyptian Intelligence Service, Abbas Kamel. However, Hamas sources in the Lebanese capital Beirut called it a “major development”.

But it is said that this is not the same proposal that Israel and Egypt agreed to ten days ago and that it is the basis of indirect talks. The report said “all possible clauses” were included. Another report said it was a unilateral plan that did not involve Israel. Egypt unilaterally relaxed the terms to the agreement of Hamas. This proposal is not acceptable to Israel in this form.

People are already approaching peace

According to Israeli media reports, Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Kivir also considers the approval a “trick.” “There is only one answer to Hamas’ tactics and games: an immediate order to capture Rafah, increase military pressure and continue to harass Hamas until it is completely defeated,” the right-wing politician said. A statement from Netanyahu’s office said Hamas’ proposal for a cease-fire fell far short of Israel’s basic demands. However, an Israeli delegation will visit Egypt to increase the likelihood of an agreement acceptable to Israel. The US government also says it is verifying the recognition of the Islamist group Hamas.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the announcement and called on the international community to pressure Israel to agree to the accord, the West Bank Palestinian News Agency reported.

In the Gaza Strip, after it was announced that Hamas had agreed to a mediation proposal, people took to the streets to celebrate as if peace was close. “God is great,” they cried. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was optimistic. The former posted on X on Twitter that he was following “positive developments” closely. He urged all parties to continue efforts to reach an agreement on the Gaza war to end the Palestinian tragedy.

Hours later, the Israeli army struck targets east of Rafah city on Monday evening. According to a military spokesman, these are Hamas facilities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet had decided to continue the military operation in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, to increase military pressure on Hamas and implement Israel’s war goals.

Months of negotiation

Israel and Hamas have not held direct talks for months, but talks are ongoing. Their focus has recently shifted from Qatar to Egypt. In total, terrorists from Hamas and other extremist organizations abducted more than 250 people into the Gaza Strip on October 7. During a week-long ceasefire at the end of November last year, Hamas released 105 hostages. In return, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners from its prisons. It was recently feared that many of the 133 hostages believed to still be in the Gaza Strip are not alive.

Hamas has continued to demand a comprehensive ceasefire, including the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. Israel, which has declared its goal to destroy Hamas completely, has so far rejected this.

The UN will attack Israel

The Israeli army on Monday called on about 100,000 people living in the eastern part of the town of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, to move to al-Mawasi camp, a few kilometers to the north. So they were informed through SMS, telephone, leaflets and Arabic language media. According to eyewitness reports, many quickly fled using donkey carts to carry their belongings.

Islamists have so far insisted on a deal that promised from the start that Israel would end the war and fully withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip. However, Israel rejects such an obligation and prefers to reserve more options for military action. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently made several statements in which he is uncompromising. He said Israel would attack Rafah even if there was a hostage deal.

With the military operation in Rafah, Israel intends to destroy the remaining battalions of the Islamic terrorist group Hamas, which has been fighting in the coastal area since October. Hamas leadership and hostages are believed to be in the town on the Egyptian border. The Gaza war was sparked by an unprecedented massacre in Israel on October 7 by terrorists from Hamas and other groups that killed more than 1,200 people.

Food, water and medicine

An Israeli military spokesman said it was a “limited operation”. People should move to an “enhanced humanitarian zone” in the al-Mawasi area. There is food, water and medicine. The Army is also making arrangements to set up field hospitals there. The speaker emphasized that humanitarian assistance to the people will continue uninterrupted during the evacuation operation. These could be brought to the coastal area through various routes such as the port at Ashdod.

At least 28 Palestinians have been killed in separate attacks by Israel in Rafah since Sunday evening, the Hamas-controlled Health Authority said on Monday. There were also reports of violent attacks east of Rafah city on Monday.

The health authority said 34,735 Palestinians have been killed and more than 78,000 wounded since the war began seven months ago. Information that does not distinguish between civilians and combatants cannot be independently verified.