An Israeli official said last night that no truce had been agreed in Gaza, after Hamas announced that it had accepted a proposal by Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
Yesterday, Hamas stated in a short statement that its head, Ismail Haniya, informed the Qatari and Egyptian negotiators that the group accepts their proposal for a truce. The announcement did not provide more details about the content of the proposal. Hamas told Reuters that the truce proposal they had agreed to included a ceasefire, the reconstruction of Gaza, the return of displaced persons and a prisoner exchange, and that they would soon send a delegation to Egypt. The deputy leader of Hamas said that the agreement consists of three phases and that the second phase of the agreement includes the "complete withdrawal of Hamas from Gaza" and pointed out that "Egyptian mediators said that they will guarantee that war will not break out in Gaza again."
An Israeli official, however, said that the proposal agreed to by Hamas is a "softened version" of the Egyptian proposal, which includes "far-reaching" conclusions that Israel cannot accept. "It appears that this is a ruse intended to make it look like Israel is the party rejecting the agreement," said an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A successful cease-fire agreement has not been reached in Gaza since a seven-day pause in the fighting was agreed in November.
Hamas' announcement came hours after Israel ordered evacuations and launched airstrikes on parts of Rafah, a city on the southern Gaza Strip that has served as the last refuge for more than a million displaced residents of the enclave.
Although there was celebration in the streets of Rafah last night after Hamas's announcement, the spokesman of the Israeli army announced that "they are still operating in Gaza and will continue to do so." "We consider every response in the most serious way and exhaust every possibility regarding negotiations and the return of the hostages. At the same time, we are still operating in the Gaza Strip and will continue to do so," said Admiral Danijel Hagari.
Residents of Rafah received messages, phone calls and leaflets in Arabic early yesterday asking them to move to what the Israeli military called an "extended humanitarian zone" 20 kilometers away, and many of them set off immediately.
Some loaded children and possessions into carts, some got into cars, while others simply walked. The roof of at least one car was crammed with mattresses, and another had a wheelchair in its trunk, Reuters reported.
The main question that bothers most people in Rafah is where to go now. Many have already moved their homes at least once during the seven-month Israeli offensive on Gaza. A large part of the enclave was turned into a wasteland of bombed buildings.
"The Israeli occupiers told people to go to Rafah, that it is safe there. Today, they tell us to leave Rafa. Where should people go, a Palestinian who introduced himself as Abu Ahmed told Reuters.
He was speaking at a camp for displaced people where overnight rains turned paths into puddles and mud, further exacerbating their suffering.
Israel ordered Palestinians to evacuate parts of Rafah early yesterday, apparently in preparation for a long-awaited offensive against Hamas extremists who still have a stronghold in the southern Gaza city.
Hamas initially stated in a statement that the Rafah offensive would not be a "picnic" for Israeli forces and announced that it was fully prepared to defend the Palestinians there.
As residents packed up and moved yesterday, explosions from airstrikes could be heard in the eastern part of Rafah, smoke and dust creating an eerie backdrop for the forced evacuation.
"We have been awake since two in the morning because of the bombing, and when we started it was raining. We are completely wet, our clothes and our possessions - now we are on the streets", said camp resident Aminah Advan.
"We also received the worst news, the call for evacuation from Rafa. The biggest genocide will happen, the biggest disaster will happen in Rafah," she said.
She called on Arab countries to negotiate a truce to save Palestinian civilians.
According to Gaza authorities, more than 34700 Palestinians have been killed and at least 78000 wounded during the war, which began after Hamas carried out a cross-border attack on October 7, in which 1200 people were killed and 252 were taken hostage, according to Israeli reports. hostages.
Aid agencies warn that the evacuation order will lead to an even bigger humanitarian disaster in the overcrowded coastal enclave where 2,3 million people are trying to survive.
"Forcing over a million displaced Palestinians to leave the Rafah without a safe destination is not only illegal but will have disastrous consequences," said the British humanitarian organization ActionAid.
Witnesses said the areas in and around Rafah where Israel wants to move people are already overcrowded, with little room for more tents.
The Israeli army said it had called on residents of Rafah to evacuate as part of a "limited scope" operation. No specific details were given, nor was it said whether an offensive would follow.
Israel claims that thousands of Hamas fighters are hiding in Rafah and that dozens of hostages are potentially being held there, and that capturing the city is key to the campaign to defeat Hamas. Victory is not possible without taking Rafa, according to the Israeli authorities.
Nick Maynard, a British surgeon who was trying to leave Gaza for Egypt yesterday, said in a voice message to Reuters: “Two huge bombs just went off right next to the crossing. A lot of gunfire is also heard, about 100 meters from us. It is very uncertain whether we will be able to get out".
"While we were driving through Rafah, tensions were high, and people were trying to evacuate as soon as possible."
In the camp, women tried to dry clothes in blankets while children cared for younger siblings and men dug trenches to drain rainwater.
Maher al-Jamal told Reuters that he fled from Al Mugraq, a town near Gaza City in the north of the enclave, to Nuseirat and then to Rafah.
"Now they are threatening Rafa, they will commit a massacre here in Rafa, it will be genocide. We honestly don't know where to go. God is our only support", he said.
A woman standing on the main street in Rafah said the Israeli army called them by phone during the night and told them to evacuate.
"People are all dead, what do they want from us", said Rahmah Naser. "They killed our children. My nephew was found dismembered, without legs and head. People are fed up with everything, where should they go"?
Mohamed al-Najjar, a 23-year-old lawyer who lives with his family in the western part of Rafah, said that people are scared after the Israeli evacuation order.
"Nowhere is safe," he told Reuters in a telephone conversation.
The few relatively safe areas to which Palestinians can flee are already crowded with tents and thousands of displaced people, he said.
"All that is left in Gaza is death," he said. "I wish I could erase the past seven months from my memory."
The West worried about the operation in Rafah
The operation in Rafah, which could result in a huge number of casualties, worries Western powers and neighboring Egypt, which is trying to mediate a new round of peace talks between Israel and Hamas.
Egypt called on Israel to exercise "the highest level of self-restraint" in Gaza, saying any military operation there would carry serious humanitarian risks. Earlier, security sources said that Egypt had raised the level of military alertness in the area on the border with Gaza.
The Rafah plan has opened an unusual public rift between Israel and Washington, which has repeatedly warned its ally against attacking the city because of potential civilian casualties.
Yesterday, the spokesperson of the American National Security Council said that the current negotiations on the release of the hostages are the best way to avoid an invasion of Rafah. After Joe Biden's telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, the White House announced that the American president reiterated his "clear position" regarding Rafa. After Hamas' announcement of a cease-fire, the White House announced that "a cease-fire is absolutely possible" and that any military operation would seriously jeopardize humanitarian efforts.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said last night that he welcomes Hamas' decision on a cease-fire in Gaza, adding that he hopes Israel will do the same. Erdogan called on Western countries to increase pressure on the Israeli leadership to accept the ceasefire.
The European head of diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said earlier yesterday that "Israeli orders to evacuate civilians in Rafah herald the worst: more war and famine."
"That is unacceptable. Israel must desist from ground attacks and implement UNSCR Resolution 2728. The EU, together with the International Community, can and must act to prevent such a scenario," Borel posted on the X network.
In a statement, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminded "that the forced displacement of the civilian population is a war crime under international law."
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Walker Turk, said yesterday that Israel's order to relocate Palestinians from Rafah is inhumane and exposes these people to further danger and suffering.
"People in Gaza continue to suffer from bombardment, disease and even hunger. And today they were told that they have to move again as Israeli military operations in Rafah escalate," Turk said in a statement. “This is inhumane”.
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