A Hamas representative told Al Jazeera on Monday that the party has accepted a ceasefire proposal made by Egyptian and Qatari mediators. The declaration was made soon after Israel gave the order to evacuate Rafah in preparation for a protracted attack.
In a statement to Al Jazeera, Hamas said that its leader, Ismail Haniyeh, had spoken with the prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, and the minister of intelligence in Egypt, Abbas Kamel, telling them “that the Hamas movement approves of their proposal regarding the ceasefire agreement.”
The proposal’s specifics are still under wraps. In the past, Hamas has insisted that any truce be permanent and that all Israeli forces leave the besieged Palestinian enclave. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has declined to provide these assurances, announcing last week that Israel will assault Rafah whether or not a ceasefire agreement is reached and that Israel will not permit Hamas to maintain control over Gaza.
Netanyahu has, however, declared that Israel is prepared for a brief ceasefire in order to facilitate the swap of Palestinian inmates for Israeli hostages.
Rafah, a city in southern Gaza that is currently home to some 1.4 million Palestinians who have been displaced from other parts of the territory, has been the target of threats from the Israeli PM to invade the city on foot for a number of months. In the face of international condemnation from the US, EU, and numerous other nations, the Israeli military issued an order on Monday for residents to evacuate Rafah, threatening to use “extreme force” in the aftermath.
It is unclear if Hamas’ acceptance of the ceasefire plan was affected by the possibility of an invasion. Other Israeli officials have argued that Hamas may prevent an invasion by accepting Israel’s interim truce, despite Netanyahu’s insistence on entering Rafah.
Furthermore, it’s uncertain if Israel supports the agreement that Egypt and Qatar have proposed. According to an unidentified Israeli official who spoke to Reuters, Hamas accepted a “softened” version of West Jerusalem’s original proposal that had “far-reaching” findings that Israel could not endorse.
Following a surprise attack by Palestinian militants on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 persons and the kidnapping of about 250 captives who were taken back to Gaza, Israel declared war on Hamas. As of Monday, the number of people killed by Israel’s enclave retaliation was getting close to 35,000, according to Palestinian health officials.
