The Hamas militant group says it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal to halt the seven-month war with Israel.
It issued a statement Monday saying its supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, had delivered the news in a phone call with Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence minister. The two Middle Eastern nations have been mediating months of talks between Israel and Hamas. There was no immediate comment from Israel.
The announcement came hours after Israel ordered Palestinians to begin evacuating the southern Gaza town of Rafah ahead of an Israeli military operation. Israel says Rafah is Hamas’ last stronghold.
News of Hamas’ announcement sent people in Rafah cheering in the streets. People rushed into the streets in front of Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip, chanting and cheering the news.
Details of the proposal were not immediately released. But in recent days, Egyptian and Hamas officials have said the cease-fire would take place in a series of stages in which Hamas would release hostages it is holding in exchange for Israeli troop pullbacks from Gaza.
It is not clear whether the deal will meet Hamas’ key demand of bringing about an end to the war and complete Israeli withdrawal.
ISRAEL'S BLOCKAGE OF AL JAZEERA NEWS WEBSITE TAKES EFFECT
JERUSALEM -- Israel’s blockage of Al Jazeera’s news website appeared to take effect Monday, a day after Israel shut the local offices of the Qatari network and halted its broadcasts in Israel.
The network’s website was no longer accessible on local Wi-Fi networks in Israel as of Monday afternoon, although it could still be viewed using virtual private networks, or VPNs. Access to the network’s YouTube livestream and social media feeds appeared undisturbed. Al Jazeera went off Israel’s main cable and satellite providers Sunday.
Believed to be the first time Israel has closed a foreign news outlet operating in the country, the shuttering of Al-Jazeera’s operation marks the culmination of a long-running feud that has only been exacerbated by the network’s coverage of the current Israel-Hamas war.
Since Hamas militants’ initial cross-border attack Oct. 7, the network has maintained 24-hour coverage of Israel’s grinding ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. While including on-the-ground reporting of the war’s casualties, including the deaths of members of its own staff, its Arabic arm often publishes verbatim video statements from Hamas and other regional militant groups.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that it had become necessary to remove the network, calling it a “Hamas mouthpiece.”
The Foreign Press Association in Israel criticized the order.
“With this decision, Israel joins a dubious club of authoritarian governments to ban the station,” it said. “This is a dark day for the media.” The New York-based Committee to Project Journalists similarly warned the move represented an “extremely alarming precedent for restricting international media outlets working in Israel.”
600,000 KIDS IN RAFAH ARE AT ‘CATASTROPHIC’ RISK FROM ISRAELI INVASION, U.N. CHILDREN’S AGENCY WARNS
JERUSALEM — The U.N. children’s agency says an Israeli ground operation in Rafah would pose “catastrophic risks” to children sheltering in the southern Gaza city.
UNICEF estimates some 600,000 children are in Rafah – roughly half the city’s population. Most of those people are huddling in tents and overcrowded apartments after fleeing Israel’s military offensive in other parts of the territory.
In a statement Monday, UNICEF warned that many of the children are “highly vulnerable.”
It said an estimated 65,000 children suffer from a pre-existing disability and an estimated 175,000 children under the age of 5 suffer from one or more infectious diseases. Almost all children, it said require mental health services.
“More than 200 days of war have taken an unimaginable toll on the lives of children,” said Catherine Russell, UNICEF’s executive director. “Rafah is now a city of children, who have nowhere safe to go in Gaza. If large scale military operations start, not only will children be at risk from the violence, but also from chaos and panic, and at a time where their physical and mental states are already weakened.”
UNICEF called for a lasting cease-fire and release of hostages held by Hamas.
BIDEN AND NETANYAHU SPEAK BY PHONE AS ISRAEL APPEARS CLOSE TO INVADING RAFAH
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Monday morning, a White House official said, as Israel appeared closer to launching an offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah — a move staunchly opposed by the U.S. on humanitarian grounds.
A National Security Council spokesperson said Biden reiterated U.S. concerns about an invasion of Rafah said he believes reaching a ceasefire with Hamas is the best way to protect the lives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
The two officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the call before an official White House statement was released.
The Biden administration, which provides Israel crucial military and diplomatic support, says it opposes a Rafah invasion unless Israel provides a “credible” plan for protecting civilians there.
The United Nations humanitarian aid agency has warned that hundreds of thousands of people would be “at imminent risk of death” if Israel carries out a military assault into Rafah. The city on the border with Egypt is a critical entry point for humanitarian aid and is filled with displaced Palestinians, many in densely packed tent camps.
___
Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed.
Forum