‘israel’ attacks Rafah as Hamas accepts ceasefire deal

Hamas has agreed to a prisoner and ceasefire deal even as “Israeli” forces continued their assault on Rafah overnight, capturing the border crossing with troops, tanks and air raids.

Hamas made the announcement late last night, only for the Zionists to reject it and start the assault with all earnestness.

Tanks and planes pounded several areas and houses in Rafah overnight, killing 20 Palestinians and wounding several others in strikes that hit at least four houses, Palestinian health officials said.

“The Israeli occupation has sentenced the residents of the Strip to death after closure of the Rafah border crossing,” said Hisham Edwan, spokesman for the Gaza Border Crossing Authority.

The Rafah crossing, a major route for aid into the devastated enclave, was closed because of the presence of Israeli tanks.

The Financial Review reports “israel” pressed ahead with the attack despite US opposition. US president Joe Biden was pressing the Nazi state for a humanitarian plan for refugees in Gaza, but the attack happened without one being produced.

“israel” claimed the majority of people had been evacuated, but that was a lie. They have a tent camp 20km away that people are supposed to walk to amid continuing downpours.

“israel” claimed later the truce proposal fell short of its demands, but it would send a delegation to meet with negotiators to try to reach an agreement.

Qatar said it would be resuming indirect negotiations between “israel” and Hamas in Cairo today.

Hamas had agreed to the phased ceasefire and hostage release deal Israel proposed on April 27 with only minor changes that did not affect the main parts of the proposal, a Qatari official said.

A senior Hamas official told Al Mayadeen, “The mediators and Hamas reached a new, tight formula that would lead to a ceasefire”.

Hamas had agreed to the phased ceasefire and hostage release deal Israel proposed on April 27 with only minor changes that did not affect the main parts of the proposal, he said.

“Hamas was extremely flexible in reaching an agreement, and the ball is now in Israel’s court,” the source explained.

Head of Hamas’ Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, told Qatari Prime Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and the Director of Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel that the movement had agreed to their proposal.

The move comes against the backdrop of a 213-day-long Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip that has claimed over 35 100 lives.

The US state department said it would discuss the situation with its allies, adding a deal was “absolutely achievable”.

Most recently, Hamas had sent a negotiating team to Cairo, Egypt, for talks on a proposed deal that would see a three-stage prisoner exchange process and promises talks for a permanent ceasefire.

Hamas reiterated that it would not accept a deal without a written clause for a ceasefire. Talks were ongoing, non-stop, from Saturday to Sunday between Hamas and the mediators. The Zionist regime did not send its delegation to Egypt.

Hani al-Dali, an expert in Palestinian Resistance Affairs, citing an unnamed leader in the Palestinian Resistance, that after talks with Hamas, mediators agreed on the complete withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from the Gaza Strip in two stages.

The new deal allows displaced Palestinians to return to their homes and dictates the complete cessation of hostilities.

“Our information confirms that Hamas completely agreed to the modified proposal,” al-Dali said.

Zionist media outlets, citing a senior official, said the announcement appeared to be a ruse to cast “israel” as the side refusing a deal.

The official said the proposal included “far-reaching” conclusions that “Israel” did not agree to, adding that the Israeli negotiating team received Hamas’ response only “a short while ago”.

The proposal was under in-depth study, and a more substantial comment would be issued later, he explained.

Families of Israeli captives blocked the Ayalon and Begin roads in Tel Aviv and called on the government not to waste time and agree to the deal.

Discussions are taking place behind closed doors in the White House, between US President Joe Biden and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

“Israeli” prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been under pressure from hard-line partners in his coalition who demanded an attack on Rafah, threatening to collapse his government if he signs onto a deal. But he also faces pressure from the families of hostages to reach a deal.

About a thousand protesters swelled near the defence headquarters in Tel Aviv last night as police tried to clear the road. In Jerusalem, about a hundred protesters marched toward Netanyahu’s residence with a banner reading, “the blood is on your hands”.

The camp tent refugees from Rafah are moving to is in Muwasi where about 450 000 refugees are already sheltering.

But conditions are squalid, with few sanitation facilities, forcing families to dig private latrines.