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Hamas warned that the IDF’s evacuation of civilians from eastern Rafah was a dangerous escalation that could scuttle the already strained hostage talks.
“The US administration, alongside the occupation, bears responsibility for this terrorism,” the official, Sami Abu Zuhri, told Reuters, referring to Israel’s alliance with Washington.
He warned that it was a “dangerous escalation that will have consequences.”
Walla’s Barak Ravid posted on X that Hamas warned that hostage talks could be suspended.
Egypt, which alongside Qatar has mediated talks for the release of the remaining 132 hostages, worked to contain the damage to negotiations, which were also harmed by Hamas attack Sunday on the Kerem Shalom crossing that killed four soldiers.
Kerem Shalom attack caused ceasefire talks to falter
An Egyptian source told Al-Qahera News that it was the Kerem Shalom attack Sunday that caused the talks to falter.
The Hamas delegation returned to Doha from Cairo for consultations with its leadership which is based there. CIA Director William Burns left Cairo for Doha last night and is expected in Israel this week.
At issue had been Hama’s insistence on a permanent ceasefire, with Israel standing firm that it could only accept a pause to the war because it was determined to conduct a military operation in Rafah to destroy the remaining Hamas battalions there.
Belgian Vice Premier Petra De Sutter warned that a Rafah “invasion will lead to a massacre.”
“Belgium is working on further sanctions against [Israel],” she wrote in a post on X.
De Sutter has been a fierce and early critic of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza that began on October 7, calling already in November for sanctions against the Jewish state.
The French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna reiterated in a post on X on Monday her country’s opposition to a possible Israeli operation in Rafah.
Et le Président de la République a rappelé hier la ferme opposition de la France à une offensive israélienne sur #Rafah lors de son entretien téléphonique avec le Premier ministre Netanhyahou. https://t.co/Cb9cmxwwyZ
— Catherine Colonna (@MinColonna) May 6, 2024
“The President of the Republic yesterday recalled France’s firm opposition to an Israeli offensive on Rafah during his telephone conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” she wrote.
The international community, including the United States, has also opposed a Rafah operation fearing it would lead to a humanitarian disaster for the over 1.3 million Palestinians located there, many of whom sought shelter there to escape Israeli bombardments in northern Gaza at the start of the war.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which is the main organization that services Palestinian refugees, wrote on X that “an Israeli offensive in #Rafah would mean more civilian suffering [and] deaths. The consequences would be devastating for 1.4 million people.”
UNRWA “is not evacuating” Palestinians from Rafah, it stressed, adding that “Agency will maintain a presence in Rafah as long as possible [and[ will continue providing lifesaving aid to people.”
Israel updates US about evacuation
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke overnight with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, updating him on the Kerem Shalom attack and Israel’s pending Rafah operation.
Gallant indicated that “at this stage, Hamas refuses the frameworks at hand” and “emphasized that military action is required, including in the area of Rafah, at the lack of an alternative,” according to the Defense Ministry
“The State of Israel will not tolerate the ongoing presence of terrorist frameworks bordering its communities, and is committed to achieving the goals of the war – the destruction of Hamas as a military and governing authority, and the return of 132 hostages,” Gallant said.
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