Hamas said on Monday that it had accepted a Gaza ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar, just as it appeared that the negotiations had fallen apart and Israel was heading for a military operation in Rafah.
The Islamist faction said in a statement that its chief, Ismail Haniyeh, had informed Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence chief that it had accepted their proposal.
There were no immediate details about what the agreement entailed. However, later on Monday, Hamas official Taher Al-Nono told Reuters the proposal reportedly included, in addition to a ceasefire, the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced, and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Only hours earlier, the terror group had suspended talks in response to Israeli steps to evacuate Palestinians from Rafah. Israel has yet to respond.
Hamas’s statement comes after intense negotiations in Cairo on Sunday involving Egyptian and Qatari delegations and CIA William Burns. He then traveled to Doha to consult with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani and is expected to visit Israel this week.
US President Joe Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for half an hour on Monday and was also expected to hold a private meeting in the White House with Jordan’s King Abdullah.
In their call Biden updated Netanyahu “on efforts to secure a hostage deal, including through ongoing talks today in Doha, Qatar,” the White House stated.
“The Prime Minister agreed to ensure the Kerem Shalom crossing is open for humanitarian assistance for those in need,” and “the President reiterated his clear position on Rafah,” the White House explained.
At issue had been Hamas’s insistence on a permanent ceasefire, with Israel insisting 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.
World leaders react to Rafah evacuation
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote on X that “Israel’s evacuation orders to civilians in Rafah portend the worst: more war and famine. It is unacceptable.
“Israel must renounce” its “ground offensive,” he stated, adding that the EU and the international community can and “must act to prevent such a scenario.”
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna stressed on X her country’s opposition to the Rafah operation, explaining that French President Emmanuel Macron had explained this to Netanyahu when the two spoke on Sunday.
The French Foreign Ministry told reporters that the “forced displacement of a civilian population constitutes a war crime under international law.”
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 international community, including the United States, has feared a Rafah operation 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.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke overnight with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, updating him on the hostage talks and on Hamas’s rocket attack against Kerem Shalom, in which four soldiers were killed.
לתרגילים והמשחקים של החמאס יש רק תשובה אחת: פקודה מיידית לכיבוש רפיח! הגברת הלחץ הצבאי, והמשך כתישתו המלאה של חמאס, עד הכרעתו המוחלטת.
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) May 6, 2024
Later on Monday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded to Hamas’s agreement to the deal and said, “Hamas’s exercises and games have only one answer: An immediate order to occupy Rafah, increasing military pressure, and continuing the complete defeat of Hamas, until its utter defeat.”
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