Hamas accepts Gaza ceasefire, Israel continues strikes
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The news: Israel has continued striking targets in the southern Gaza town of Rafah hours after Hamas announced it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal.
The numbers: The ceasefire could bring a pause in the 7-month-old war that has devastated the Gaza Strip. Aid groups have warned that an all-out Israeli assault on Rafah would be disastrous for around 1.4 million Palestinians taking refuge there. More than 34,600 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, according to Gaza health officials.
The context: Israel said the terms did not meet its demands and pressed ahead with strikes in Rafah while planning to continue negotiations on a deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that Hamas' latest truce proposal falls short of Israel's demands but Israel would send a delegation to meet with negotiators to try to reach an agreement.
Netanyahu's office added that his war cabinet approved continuing an operation in Rafah. Israel said it was conducting limited operations on the eastern part of Rafah. This was being accompanied by massive air strikes, according to Palestinian residents.
Earlier, Hamas said in a brief statement that its chief, Ismail Haniyeh, had informed Qatari and Egyptian mediators that the group accepted their proposal for a ceasefire. A Hamas official told Reuters the proposal met the group's demands for reconstruction efforts in Gaza, return of displaced Palestinians and a swap of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Hamas deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, told Al Jazeera television the proposal comprised three phases, each of six weeks, with Israel to pull its troops out of Gaza in the second phase.
The source: Reuters
