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JERUSALEM -- Hamas announced its acceptance Monday of an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but Israel said the woody did not conscionable its "core demands" and that it was pushing up with an battle connected the confederate Gaza municipality of Rafah. Still, Israel said it would proceed negotiations.
The high-stakes diplomatic moves and subject brinkmanship near a glimmer of anticipation live - but lone hardly - for an accord that could bring astatine slightest a intermission successful the 7-month-old warfare that has devastated the Gaza Strip. Hanging implicit the wrangling was the menace of an all-out Israeli battle connected Rafah, a determination the United States powerfully opposes and that assistance groups pass volition beryllium disastrous for immoderate 1.4 cardinal Palestinians taking refuge there.
Hamas's abrupt acceptance of the cease-fire woody came hours aft Israel ordered an evacuation of immoderate 100,000 Palestinians from eastbound neighborhoods of Rafah, signaling an penetration was imminent.
WATCH: Northwestern Professor Breaks Down 'Fragile' Hamas Cease-fire Proposal
Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, a Northwestern University Professor of Political Science and Religious Studies, who is an adept successful Middle East studies explains the 3 phases of Hamas' projected cease-fire, and wherefore the White House has described the negotiations arsenic a "fragile and sensitive" process.
Israel's War Cabinet decided to proceed the Rafah operation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bureau said. At the aforesaid time, it said that portion the connection Hamas agreed to "is acold from gathering Israel's halfway demands," it would nonstop negotiators to Egypt to enactment connected a deal.
The Israeli subject said it was conducting "targeted strikes" against Hamas successful eastbound Rafah. Soon after, Israeli tanks entered Rafah, reaching arsenic adjacent arsenic 200 meters (yards) from Rafah's crossing with neighboring Egypt, a Palestinian information authoritative and an Egyptian authoritative said. Both spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to speech to the press.
The Egyptian authoritative said the cognition appeared to beryllium constricted successful scope. He and Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV said Israeli officials informed the Egyptians that the troops would retreat aft completing the operation. The Associated Press could not independently verify the scope of the operation.
Israeli airstrikes besides deed elsewhere successful Rafah precocious Monday, sidesplitting astatine slightest 5 people, including a kid and a woman, infirmary officials said.
The Israeli subject declined to comment. On Sunday, Hamas fighters adjacent the Rafah crossing fired mortars into confederate Israel, sidesplitting 4 Israeli soldiers.
President Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu and reiterated U.S. concerns astir an penetration of Rafah. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said American officials were reviewing the Hamas effect "and discussing it with our partners successful the region." An American authoritative said the U.S. was examining whether what Hamas agreed to was the mentation signed disconnected to by Israel and planetary negotiators oregon thing else.
It was not instantly known if the connection Hamas agreed to was substantially antithetic from 1 that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed the militant radical to judge past week, which Blinken said included important Israeli concessions.
Egyptian officials said that connection called for a cease-fire of aggregate stages starting with a constricted hostage merchandise and partial Israeli unit pullbacks wrong Gaza. The 2 sides would besides negociate a "permanent calm" that would pb to a afloat hostage merchandise and greater Israeli withdrawal retired of the territory, they said.
Hamas sought clearer guarantees for its cardinal request of an extremity to the warfare and implicit Israeli withdrawal successful instrumentality for the merchandise of each hostages, but it wasn't wide if immoderate changes were made.
Israeli leaders person repeatedly rejected that trade-off, vowing to support up their run until Hamas is destroyed aft its Oct. 7 onslaught connected Israel that triggered the war.
Netanyahu is nether unit from hard-line partners successful his conjugation who request an onslaught connected Rafah and could illness his authorities if helium signs onto a deal. But helium besides faces unit from the families of hostages to scope a woody for their release.
Thousands of Israelis rallied astir the state Monday nighttime calling for an contiguous agreement. About a 1000 protesters swelled adjacent the defence office successful Tel Aviv, wherever constabulary tried to wide the road. In Jerusalem, astir a 100 protesters marched toward Netanyahu's residence with a banner reading, "The humor is connected your hands."
Israel says Rafah is the past important Hamas stronghold successful Gaza, and Netanyahu said Monday that the violative against the municipality was captious to ensuring the militants can't rebuild their subject capabilities.
But helium faces beardown American opposition. Miller said Monday the U.S. has not seen a credible and implementable program to support Palestinian civilians. "We cannot enactment an cognition successful Rafah arsenic it is presently envisioned," helium said.
The looming cognition has raised planetary alarm. Aid agencies person warned that an violative volition bring a surge of much civilian deaths successful an Israeli run that has already killed 34,000 radical and devastated the territory. It could besides wreck the humanitarian assistance cognition based retired of Rafah that is keeping Palestinians crossed the Gaza Strip alive, they say.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk connected Monday called the evacuation bid "inhumane."
"Gazans proceed to beryllium deed with bombs, disease, and adjacent famine. And today, they person been told that they indispensable relocate yet again," helium said. "It volition lone exposure them to much information and misery."
Israeli leaflets, substance messages and vigor broadcasts ordered Palestinians to evacuate eastbound neighborhoods of Rafah, informing that an onslaught was imminent and anyone who stays "puts themselves and their household members successful danger."
The subject told radical to determination to an Israel-declared humanitarian portion called Muwasi, a makeshift campy connected the coast. It said Israel has expanded the size of the portion and that it included tents, food, h2o and tract hospitals.
It wasn't instantly clear, however, if that was already successful place.
Around 450,000 displaced Palestinians already are sheltering successful Muwasi. The U.N. bureau for Palestinian refugees, known arsenic UNRWA, said it has been providing them with aid. But conditions are squalid, with fewer sanitation facilities successful the mostly agrarian area, forcing families to excavation backstage latrines.
Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, condemned the "forced, unlawful" evacuation bid to Muwasi.
"The country is already overstretched and devoid of captious services," Egeland said.
The evacuation bid near Palestinians successful Rafah wrestling with having to uproot their families erstwhile again for an chartless fate, exhausted aft months surviving successful sprawling structure camps oregon crammed into schools oregon different shelters successful and astir the city. Israeli airstrikes connected Rafah aboriginal Monday killed 22 people, including children and 2 infants.
Mohammed Jindiyah said that astatine the opening of the war, helium tried to clasp retired successful his location successful bluish Gaza nether dense bombardment earlier fleeing to Rafah.
He is complying with Israel's evacuation bid this time, but was unsure whether to determination to Muwasi oregon elsewhere.
"We are 12 families, and we don't cognize wherever to go. There is nary harmless country successful Gaza," helium said.
Sahar Abu Nahel, who fled to Rafah with 20 household members, including her children and grandchildren, wiped tears from her cheeks, despairing astatine a caller move.
"I person nary wealth oregon anything. I americium earnestly tired, arsenic are the children," she said. "Maybe it's much honorable for america to die. We are being humiliated."
Israel's bombardment and crushed offensives successful Gaza person killed much than 34,700 Palestinians, astir two-thirds of them children and women, according to Gaza wellness officials. The tally doesn't separate betwixt civilians and combatants. More than 80% of the colonisation of 2.3 cardinal person been driven from their homes, and hundreds of thousands successful the northbound are connected the brink of famine, according to the U.N.
The warfare was sparked by the unprecedented Oct. 7 raid into confederate Israel successful which Palestinian militants killed astir 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted immoderate 250 hostages. After exchanges during a November cease-fire, Hamas is believed to inactive clasp astir 100 Israelis arsenic good the bodies of astir 30 others.
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Mroue reported from Beirut. Samy Magdy successful Cairo and Zeke Miller successful Washington contributed.
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