Israel announces strikes in Rafah despite Hamas ceasefire moves

Israeli leaders have approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, and Israeli forces are striking targets in the area, officials have announced.

The move came hours after Hamas announced it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal.

Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office said the proposal was “far from Israel’s essential demands”, but it would send negotiators to continue talks on an agreement.

Hamas issued a statement on Monday saying its supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, had accepted the ceasefire proposal in a phone call with Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence minister. The two Middle Eastern nations have been mediating months of talks between Israel and Hamas.

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United Nations secretary general António Guterres on Monday urged the government of Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas “to go the extra mile needed to make an agreement come true and stop the present suffering”, his spokesman said.

“The secretary-general is deeply concerned by the indications that a large-scale military operation in Rafah may be imminent,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. “The secretary-general reminds the parties that the protection of civilians is paramount in international humanitarian law.”

US president Joe Biden and Mr Netanyahu spoke on Monday by phone, a White House official said, with Mr Biden reiterating US concerns about an invasion of Rafah. He said he believes a ceasefire with Hamas is the best way to protect the lives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

The White House said it was reviewing a response by Hamas to a ceasefire and hostage release deal, but declined to give any details of what was agreed. CIA director Williams Buerns was in the region having discussions on the proposal, White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

“We want to get these hostages out, we want to get a ceasefire in place for six weeks, we want to increase humanitarian assistance,” Mr Kirby said, adding that reaching an agreement would be the “absolute best outcome.”

On Monday Israel urged civilians to evacuate parts of Rafah where more than a million war-displaced Palestinians have been sheltering.

Israel’s military said it had begun encouraging residents of Rafah to evacuate in a “limited scope” operation. Instructed by Arabic text messages, telephone calls, and flyers to move to what the Israeli military called an “expanded humanitarian zone” 20km (7 miles) away, some Palestinian families lumbered out under chilly spring rain, witnesses said.

Seven months into its war against Hamas, Israel has been threatening to launch incursions in Rafah, which it says harbours thousands of Hamas fighters and potentially dozens of hostages. Victory is impossible without taking Rafah, it says.

The United Nations Palestinian Relief Agency (Unrwa) said on X: “An Israeli offensive in #Rafah would mean more civilian suffering & deaths. The consequences would be devastating for 1.4 million people. @UNRWA is not evacuating: the Agency will maintain a presence in Rafah as long as possible & will continue providing lifesaving aid to people.”

[ Starvation in Gaza a ‘moral outrage’, says UN chief in call for Israel-Hamas ceasefire ]

In an overnight aerial attack on Rafah, Israeli planes hit 10 houses, killing 20 people and wounding several, medical officials said.

Three Israeli soldiers were killed on Sunday in a Hamas rocket attack near Rafah, at the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, while Palestinian health officials said at least 19 people were killed by Israeli fire.

– Reuters, PA