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  6.  » Israel launches strike on Rafah after Hamas accepts ceasefire proposal

ITV News – May7, 2024

Israel has launched strikes on Rafah as it labelled a ceasefire agreement accepted by Hamas as far from reaching their “essential demands.”

On Monday afternoon Hamas accepted a ceasefire agreement proposed by Qatar and Egypt after weeks of negotiation.

Israel did not respond for several hours until Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the proposal was “far from Israel’s essential demands,” but that it would send negotiators to continue talks on a ceasefire agreement.

The agreement outlined a phased release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza alongside the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from the entire enclave and ending with a “sustainable calm” or “permanent cessation of military and hostile operations.”

Israel has long said it would not withdraw its forces until Hamas had been destroyed.

Despite Hamas accepting the plan, Israel approved a military operation in Rafah after warning residents earlier in the day to leave certain areas of the southern Gazan city.

Within minutes of the ceasefire announcement being made people were cheering and singing in the streets of Gaza but not long later the joy was ended as Israel began striking Rafah.

Israel will face enormous pressure to cancel their offensive into Rafah from the US and its other allies in order to reach a ceasefire now that a deal seems so close.

Israel has argued Hamas only agreed to the ceasefire to tactically put more pressure on the Israeli military to cancel their Rafah offensive.

The Israeli government is also facing intense pressure from its own population to agree to a ceasefire, especially from the families of the hostages held by Hamas.

Thousands of Israelis rallied around the country on Monday to demand the release of the hostages, with 1,000 protesters in Tel Aviv swelling near Israel’s military headquarters.

What’s in the ceasefire deal Hamas has agreed to?

The ceasefire agreement brokered by Qatar and Egypt lays out a long plan over several months to eventually bring the war in Gaza to an end.

Only Hamas has accepted it, not Israel.

The first stage would last 42 days and would involve a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the release of about 33 hostages held in the territory, including the remaining Israeli women — both civilians and soldiers — as well as children, older adults and people who are ill.

Thirty Palestinian prisoners held in Israel would be released in exchange for each Israeli civilian hostage and 50 in exchange for each female soldier.

Palestinians displaced in Gaza would be allowed to return to their home neighbourhoods during that time.

 

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