The Israeli army carried out intense bombardments on Tuesday in Rafah, in the south of Gaza, in order to accentuate the “pressure” on Hamas a few hours before new talks in Cairo to try to influence a truce agreement to which the Islamist movement gave the green light.
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Israel strikes Rafah
07:53
Israel says it has taken control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing point with Egypt
00:42
An “invasion” of Rafah would be “intolerable”, insists the UN chief
An “invasion” of Rafah, a town in the south of the Gaza Strip where Israel has promised to carry out a vast ground operation, would be “intolerable”, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres insisted on Monday, calling on Israel and Hamas to an “extra effort” for a truce.
“A land invasion of Rafah would be intolerable because of its devastating humanitarian consequences and its destabilizing impact in the region,” he declared to the press, receiving Italian President Sergio Mattarella.
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At least five dead in Rafah strikes
Israeli strikes killed at least five people in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, where Israel has promised to carry out a large ground operation, a local hospital said early Tuesday.
The Kuwaiti hospital, located in Rafah, indicated that it had received “five martyrs and many wounded” linked to nighttime Israeli strikes. According to witnesses and Palestinian security sources, the Rafah sector is currently the scene of intense Israeli strikes.
00:06
Qatar sends delegation to Cairo on Tuesday to continue truce talks
The Qatari Foreign Ministry announced overnight the sending of a delegation to Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday with a view to securing a truce agreement between Israel and Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“The Qatari delegation will travel to Egypt on Tuesday morning to relaunch indirect negotiations between the two parties (…) with the hope of reaching an agreement for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange of prisoners and hostages,” Qatari Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said in a statement.
11:08 p.m.
Jordan’s king calls on Biden to prevent ‘another massacre’ in Rafah
King Abdullah II of Jordan called on Monday in Washington the international community to do everything to prevent “a new massacre” in Rafah, at a time when Israel is preparing for an offensive in this city in the south of the Gaza Strip.
During a meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House, the King of Jordan “warned that the Israeli attack on Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians are displaced by the war, threatened to lead to a new massacre”, according to a press release from the kingdom’s embassy in the United States.
10:21 p.m.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s military wing says it fired rockets from Gaza into southern Israel
The armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad said Monday evening that it had fired rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, against a backdrop of intense Israeli bombardments on the town of Rafah and Hamas’ approval of a planned ceasefire.
“We targeted with rocket barrages (the town of) Sderot, (the kibbutz) Nir Am and other settlements in the Gaza envelope,” the area of Israel located around the Gaza Strip, said the Palestinian armed group in a statement. The Israeli military said sirens sounded in areas around the Gaza Strip. No report was immediately available.
9:31 p.m.
Israel says it will send a delegation to mediators
Israel announced Monday evening that it would soon send a delegation to mediators, after Hamas accepted a truce proposal submitted by Qatar and Egypt, while continuing its operations in Rafah to “exert military pressure” on the Palestinian movement.
“Israel will send a delegation (…) to mediation to exhaust the possibilities of reaching an agreement” on a truce, “even if Hamas’ proposals are far from the essential demands” of Israel, indicated the Prime Minister’s office Benjamin Netanyahu in a press release. He adds that “the war cabinet decided to continue the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas.”
9:30 p.m.
UN chief calls on Israel, Hamas to ‘go the extra mile’ for truce
The UN Secretary General on Monday called on Israel and Hamas “to make the necessary additional effort” to reach a truce, his spokesperson said, while Hamas said it had accepted a proposal to this effect.
“The Secretary General repeats his urgent appeal to both the Israeli government and Hamas leaders to make the extra effort to make an agreement a reality and for the suffering to end,” Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement, adding that Antonio Guterres “is deeply concerned” about the possibility of an “imminent” large-scale Israeli military operation in Rafah.
Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip reported “many deaths“during the night in Rafah. And the Kuwaiti hospital, located in this city, said it had received”11 dead“and”dozens of injured” in these strikes, thus raising an initial toll of five deaths. Witnesses and Palestinian security sources report airstrikes late Monday and early Tuesday, as well as intense artillery fire across the Gaza Strip, and more particularly in Rafah and its surroundings.
According to these sources, Israeli tanks are stationed near the eponymous crossing point which links the south of the Gaza Strip to neighboring Egypt, which fears the massive influx into its territory of Palestinians fleeing the violence in Rafah. After its operations in Gaza City, then Khan Younes, Israel has been threatening for weeks to push its ground offensive as far as Rafah, considered the last bastion of Hamas but where 1.2 million Palestinians were still crowded last weekend, the majority displaced by the fighting.
However, on Monday, after talks in Cairo did not result in a truce agreement, the Israeli army began an operation to evacuate tens of thousands of people from Rafah. Then, in the evening, Hamas said it had informed Egypt and Qatar, mediator countries with the United States, that it had “approved their proposal for a ceasefire agreement” with Israel.
But this proposal is “far from Israeli demands”, replied the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The war cabinet decided “unanimously” to continue “the operation in Rafah in order to exert military pressure on Hamas with the aim of progressing towards the release of the hostages and the achievement of other objectives of the war”, indicated the Prime Minister’s services.
“Although Hamas’ proposal falls far short of key Israeli demands, Israel will send a high-ranking delegation to Egypt in an effort to maximize the chances of reaching an agreement on terms acceptable to Israel“, they added. Shortly after this declaration, Qatar announced the sending of a delegation to Cairo on Tuesday morning.”to relaunch indirect negotiations between the two parties (…) with the hope of reaching an agreement for an immediate and permanent ceasefire” in “exchange of prisoners and hostages“.
According to the No. 2 of Hamas’ political branch in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, the proposal includes three phases, each lasting 42 days, and includes a complete Israeli withdrawal from the territory, the return of the displaced and an exchange hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, with the aim of a “permanent ceasefire“.
Until now, Israel has opposed a complete withdrawal of its troops from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire, believing it must first carry out an operation on Rafah to “defeat” Hamas and ensure that October 7 does not happen again.
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