Israel and Hamas at war, day 213 | Hamas accepts truce proposal in Gaza, Israel examines it

(Rafah) The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas said Monday evening that it had accepted a truce proposal, after the start of an Israeli operation to evacuate tens of thousands of people from Rafah, on the southern edge of the besieged Gaza Strip.

After Hamas’ announcement, the Israeli army carried out intense bombardment on the east of the crowded town of Rafah, where residents had been urged to leave.

People rushed to the streets of the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, which is in the crosshairs of a possible Israeli military offensive. Men climbed on each other’s shoulders, whistling and shouting, while children ran around them.

However, it is not certain that an agreement has been sealed. An Israeli official warned that the plan approved by Hamas “is not the framework proposed by Israel.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Israel is still formulating a response, and did not provide further details.

The announcement came hours after the Israeli military ordered around 100,000 people to evacuate Rafah, signaling that the long-promised ground invasion could be imminent. Israel says Rafah is Hamas’ last bastion.

The evacuation should prepare the ground, according to Israel, for a land military operation Rafah, which is opposed by many countries, including the United States, Israel’s main ally, and international organizations.

According to a statement published on its website, Hamas said it had informed Egypt and Qatar, mediator countries with the United States, that it had “approved their proposed ceasefire agreement” with Israel in the Gaza Strip, devastated by seven months of war.

An Israeli official said Israel was reviewing the proposal accepted by Hamas. “This is not the framework we agreed to,” he said. The United States also said it was reviewing the text.

According to a senior Hamas official, Khalil al-Hayya, the agreement includes three phases, each lasting 42 days, and includes a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the return of displaced people and an exchange of hostages still held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, with the aim of a “permanent ceasefire”.

” Pressure ”

“Israel will probably say that this is not the proposal it had accepted, but because Hamas said “yes”, this will increase the pressure on Israel (…) to conclude an agreement”, estimates Mairav ​​Zonszein, analyst for the International Crisis Group (ICG).

After the announcement of Hamas’ response to the truce proposal, Rafah, which had become a refuge for more than a million people, the majority of whom were displaced, was the scene Monday evening of scenes of joy and shots in the air. .

Indirect negotiations led by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, aimed at achieving a truce associated with the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, began on Saturday in Cairo but ended on Sunday without advanced.

Hamas demanded a definitive ceasefire while Israel said it was determined to destroy the Palestinian movement in power in Gaza since 2007, considered a terrorist organization by this country, the United States and the European Union.

Despite international objections, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to launch the offensive on Rafah, whatever the outcome of the negotiations.

The Israeli army said on Monday that it was essential to “destroy the last four battalions” of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

In this perspective, she said she had started on Monday “a limited-scale operation to temporarily evacuate people residing in eastern Rafah”, estimating the number of people concerned at “around 100,000”.

“Terror and panic”

In leaflets dropped on eastern Rafah neighborhoods, the Israeli army warned that it was “preparing to act forcefully against terrorist organizations” and asked residents to “immediately evacuate to the expanded humanitarian zone of Al -Mawasi”, about ten kilometers from Rafah.

“Residents are evacuating in terror and panic,” Ossama al-Kahlout, a Palestinian Red Crescent official in eastern Rafah, told AFP, adding that the designated areas were home to around 250,000 people.

“Thousands” of people left eastern Rafah, he later added.

Residents told AFP they learned the news when they woke up, after a night punctuated by Israeli strikes. Some were preparing their belongings, in their tents flooded by heavy rain, or piling them into trailers.

The “massive evacuation” of part of the population of Rafah is “impossible” to be carried out in a “safe” manner, underlined the spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, while the High Commissioner of the UN Human Rights considered the evacuation order “inhumane”.

At the same time, several capitals, including Washington, Riyadh, Amman and Paris, repeated their opposition to the offensive on Rafah.

In a telephone interview, US President Joe Biden reiterated on Monday his “clear position” to Mr. Netanyahu against any offensive in Rafah, according to the White House.

“Unacceptable”

This evacuation order in Rafah “portends the worst: more war and famine. This is unacceptable,” also launched the head of diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell.

The World Food Program (WFP) recently warned that the north of the Gaza Strip was being hit by a “real famine”, which is progressing towards the south of the Palestinian territory.

The Palestinian Authority, which sits in the occupied West Bank, called on Washington to prevent a “massacre”.

After Hamas’ announcement, the Israeli army, which said it had struck more than “50 terrorist targets” in Rafah on Monday, said it was maintaining its call for evacuation.

According to the Israeli army, “field hospitals, tents and an increasing volume of food, water, medicine and other supplies” are set up in Al-Mawasi.

But residents and humanitarian organizations describe areas already overpopulated or destroyed after seven months of war.

” Where to go ? »

“My family and I, 13 people, don’t know where to go,” confides Abdelrahmane Abou Jazar, a 36-year-old man. This area lacks “room to pitch tents or schools to shelter us”.

“The area is already saturated and lacking in basic services,” according to Jan Engeland, director of the NGO Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

On Sunday, four Israeli soldiers were killed by rockets fired from eastern Rafah around Kerem Shalom, the main entry point for humanitarian aid from Israel to Gaza.

The armed wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for the shots, which led Israel to close the crossing, while international aid trickled into the besieged territory.

Mr. Netanyahu told Mr. Biden on Monday that he would ensure that “Kerem Shalom is open for humanitarian assistance to those in need,” according to the White House.

The war broke out on October 7 when Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza launched an attack in southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report established in from official Israeli data. More than 250 people have been kidnapped and 128 remain captive in Gaza, of whom 35 have died, according to the army.

Israeli reprisals have already left 34,735 dead in the Gaza Strip, the majority civilians, including at least 52 in 24 hours, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.