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SvennoJ on 06 May 2024

‘A truly unspeakable humanitarian catastrophe’

Families started to flee from the neighbourhoods that were marked as “red” in terms of the classification of the Israeli military. They have been using their own vehicles in order to move their house items and stuff towards the central areas of Rafah and al-Mawasi.

Some families headed to the middle areas of Gaza, which we have visited today – we are talking about a truly unspeakable humanitarian catastrophe. The situation there is indescribable as there’s no place that seems to be empty.

Residents are living there in unprecedented congestion in the streets of Nuseirat, even in Deir el-Balah town, where the vast majority of Gaza’s population is heading to. The situation on the ground for those families is completely terrifying because they have no other place that is designated as a safe zone to get to.

Meanwhile, the bombardment continues amid more fleeing movements among the residents in the eastern part of Rafah.

Red Crescent says thousands fleeing eastern Rafah

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says thousands of people have been seen evacuating areas to the east of Rafah after the Israeli order ahead of the looming military attack.

“This coincides with the escalating Israeli airstrikes on areas east of the city of Rafah,” it said in a post on X that was accompanied by a video showing people fleeing with their belongings.

“PRCS warns of a humanitarian catastrophe for civilians in Rafah,” the group added.

Separately, PRCS spokesman Osama al-Kahlout told AFP: “The numbers of citizens moving from the eastern areas of Rafah towards the west are large, especially after the intensification of the bombing, there are thousands of citizens leaving their homes.”




Belgium working on more sanctions against Israel, deputy PM says

The comments came from Petra De Sutter after she met with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki, adding that the two had “discussed how Belgium can help to end the atrocities” in Gaza.

“We will continue to push for recognition of the State of Palestine, and full UN membership,” she added in a social media post.


UN experts condemn Israel’s ‘sexual assault and violence’ in Gaza

Seven UN special rapporteurs have issued a statement condemning “unacceptable” violence by the Israeli army against women and children during the war on Gaza, particularly sexual violence and enforced disappearances.

“We are appalled that women are being targeted by Israel with such vicious, indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, seemingly sparing no means to destroy their lives and deny them their fundamental human rights,” they said

The statement pointed to “continued reports of sexual assault and violence against women and girls, including against those detained by Israeli occupation forces”. It also cited UN reports saying women and girls in Gaza were victims of enforced disappearances.

Special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. They do not speak on behalf of the UN.

Referring to Hamas, Israel’s mission in Geneva alleged the experts had “once again chosen to ignore Hamas’s systematic militarisation of health facilities and civilian infrastructures in the Gaza Strip, voluntarily and actively using the population as human shields”. 

“In issuing such a statement, the signatories try to create an alternative narrative, parroting the agenda of a terrorist organisation that is actively destroying the lives of the Palestinian population in Gaza,” the Israeli mission said.



Family says al-Shifa doctor was tortured to death in Israeli prison

Adnan al-Bursh was a doctor at Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital who was taken into Israeli custody during a raid. His family tell Al Jazeera they believe he was tortured to death.




US Republican senators threaten ICC over Israel arrest warrants: Report

The threat came in a letter sent by 12 Republican senators from the United States, including former Senate leader Mitch McConnell and Texas’s Ted Cruz. The letter admonished International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan for reports that the body was investigating Israel for war crimes committed in Gaza.

“Target Israel and we will target you,” the senators said in the letter, obtained by the news website Zeteo. “If you move forward with the measures indicated in the report, we will move to end all American support for the ICC, sanction your employers and associates, and bar you and your families from the United States. You have been warned.”

The ICC has demanded an end to threats against it last week. Media reports have indicated that the ICC might issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The should issue arrest warrants for those senators as well. Impeding justice and issuing threats are crimes.





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SvennoJ on 06 May 2024

MSF call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, says a military offensive on Rafah would be “catastrophic” in light of more than one million people residing in the southern Gaza city, most of them displaced.

“People in Gaza need an immediate and sustained ceasefire,” the group said on X.




British PM ‘deeply concerned’ about looming Rafah invasion

Rishi Sunak says that his government is “deeply concerned about the possibility of a military incursion into Rafah given the number of civilians sheltering there”.

The Israeli army appears to be moving closer to carrying out its long-threatened military ground operation against Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where more than one million displaced Palestinians are currently sheltering. Earlier today, leaflets were dropped on the eastern areas of the city, ordering citizens there to evacuate.

“The priority now must be for all parties, especially Hamas, to agree to an agreement to release the hostages and allow more aid in as part of a temporary truce that allows us to build a sustainable ceasefire, as this is the best way to end the conflict,” the United Kingdom’s prime minister said in comments to Sky News.

PM Rishi Sunak further added:

  • The UK is deeply concerned about the possibility of a military incursion into Rafah given the number of civilians sheltering there.
  • The priority now must be for all parties, especially Hamas, to settle on an agreement to release the hostages and allow more aid in as part of a temporary truce that allows for the building of a sustainable ceasefire, as this is the best way to end the conflict.

 

Biden, Netanyahu speak as Rafah offensive looms

Biden has updated Netanyahu on efforts to secure a deal to free captives held in Gaza, including through ongoing talks today in Qatar, a statement by the White House says.

Netanyahu told Biden he would ensure the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing between Israel and Gaza is open for humanitarian aid. The crossing was closed on Sunday after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets at it.

Biden reiterated his “clear position on Rafah” during the call with Netanyahu. The statement did not elaborate on what that position is, but in the past, US officials have said they would oppose a ground offensive on Rafah without a clear plan in place to protect civilians.

As recently as late April, US officials said they had yet to see such a plan from the Israeli army.

 

Israel keeps main humanitarian aid crossing into Gaza closed for second day

The Israeli military confirms that it has kept the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, the main aid crossing from Israeli territory into besieged Gaza, closed for a second day due to “security reasons”.

The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) office, which is in charge of organising aid entry into the Gaza Strip, said 35 aid trucks crossed into northern Gaza today via the Beit Hanoon (Erez) crossing that was reopened last week for the first time since the start of the war.

The Karem Abu Salem crossing was closed on Sunday after Hamas fired 10 rockets at a military installation near the crossing, killing four Israeli soldiers and wounding at least 10 others.

A short while ago, the White House said that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden that he had agreed to reopen the crossing.



Released captives, families demand ‘truth’ on negotiations: Report

Six Israelis released from captivity in Gaza, along with the families of those remaining in the enclave, have reportedly written a letter to war cabinet members Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot to demand the “truth” about mediated negotiations with Hamas.

They blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for deliberating sabotaging an agreement and effectively “abandoning the hostages to their deaths”, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

“We watch in horror at what is happening, and demand to know what happened on Saturday,” the letter reads.
They also deem the planned offensive on Rafah at this moment a death sentence for the captives.

“Why aren’t you telling the Israeli public that they can allow themselves to stop the war in exchange for a ceasefire?” they asked in their letter. “And why did you support action in Rafah when it is clear that it endangers the hostages and distances the possibility of their return? Go public and tell the truth.”



Rafah invasion will put children at risk from ‘chaos’ and panic’: UNICEF

A ground invasion into Rafah poses “catastrophic risks” to the hundreds of thousands of children taking shelter in the area, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said.

“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,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell in a statement.

“More than 200 days of war have taken an unimaginable toll on the lives of children.”

UNICEF said children in Gaza are being “disproportionately” killed and wounded, while suffering “more acutely from disruptions to healthcare and education”.



SvennoJ on 06 May 2024

Palestinian fighters ramp up attacks on Israel’s Netzarim Corridor in Gaza

Armed Palestinian groups in Gaza are reporting multiple new attacks on the so-called Netzarim Corridor, which the Israeli military has established to separate northern Gaza from the southern part of the enclave.

A video released by the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, shows three rockets being launched in cooperation with al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Another video shows Hamas launching Rajum rockets at Netzarim, the same type that was used in the attack on the military installation near the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing that killed four Israeli soldiers on Sunday.

The Qassam Brigades also said its fighters worked with the Jihad Jibril Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command, to launch mortars at the corridor.


Saudi Arabia warns against Israel’s Rafah invasion

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned of the “dangers” of the looming invasion of the southern Gaza city, calling it part of Israel’s “bloody, systematic campaign to storm all areas of the Gaza Strip and displace its residents into the unknown”.

Thousands of people are fleeing eastern Rafah after Israel ordered people to evacuate as fears of a military assault on the city grow.



SvennoJ on 06 May 2024

Hamas leader informs mediators of ceasefire acceptance

A leading Hamas source tells Al Jazeera that the group has informed Egyptian and Qatari mediators of its agreement with a ceasefire proposal.

“The mujahid brother Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas movement’s political bureau, had a phone call with the Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, and with the Egyptian Minister of Intelligence, Abbas Kamel, and informed them of the Hamas movement’s approval of their proposal regarding the ceasefire agreement.”


No response yet from Israel

A Hamas official has said that the “ball [is] now in Israel’s court”, and that’s where this proposed ceasefire now stands, with no response yet from the Israeli government.

Israel had emphasised in recent days that it was not on the same page as Hamas with regards to the deal, and instead made clear that it planned to invade Rafah, in southern Gaza.

And as Palestinians spontaneously celebrate on the streets of Gaza, everything now rests on what Israel’s response will be.

 

Cheering Palestinians react to news of ceasefire agreement

Displaced Palestinians are ecstatic after hearing that Hamas has agreed to a deal for a ceasefire, especially after fearing an imminent ground offensive on Rafah.

“We hope Allah will facilitate this and we can return to our homes,” a man from Gaza City in the northern part of the enclave told Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum in Rafah. “All praise be to Allah that they didn’t invade Rafah,” a Palestinian boy said. “We would like to thank all those who stood by our side and stood by Gaza.”

“We want a political solution, not just a military solution,” another Palestinian said. “For that, we must struggle to have independence from the Israeli occupation and to stop the aggression in both Gaza and the West Bank.”

“We want to see the international community stop Israel’s escalation on the Gaza Strip,” he continued. “We want to go back to our houses. Our families are very sad, but this evening after this announcement ,we see the majority of our people happy.”



Israeli official indicates rejection of ceasefire proposal: Report

An unnamed Israeli official quoted by the Reuters news agency says Hamas has approved a “softened” Egyptian proposal that is not acceptable to Israel. The official added that the proposal included “far-reaching” conclusions that Israel will not support.

Israeli media outlets are also reporting that the Israeli government has not accepted the deal.

We remind our readers that we do not yet have the specifics of the deal that Hamas has agreed to.

Report: Israel studying Hamas ceasefire response

Israel’s Channel 12 is reporting that the Israeli negotiating team has Hamas’s response from mediators, is studying it, and will issue an official response.



SvennoJ on 06 May 2024

Palestinians hope Hamas announcement a ‘positive’ step towards end of bloodshed

The Hamas movement has announced they have agreed on the ceasefire proposal put forth by mediators.

Palestinians around the Kuwaiti Hospital here [in Rafah] have been celebrating the announcement as a positive step, hoping that this step can help prevent a potential military incursion into Rafah.

You can see children, young men and the elderly celebrating. There’s a great sense of optimism here … they are happily chanting away.

They are chanting for peace. They are chanting about returning home.

Residents are now waiting for further confirmation from the Israeli side about a ceasefire deal.

‘We will survive until we get our freedom’

A young Palestinian man says he wants the world to know that Palestinians will survive the war on Gaza.

“We feel so happy that finally Hamas has agreed about the ceasefire but now we are waiting for an Israeli agreement and we hope that they will say it,” he tells Al Jazeera from Rafah.

“It’s after 212 days of genocide, of displacement, of killing of children, women and elderly, even nurses and doctors. It’s about time we have shown the world that we have survived.”

“Gaza is so small but we have survived after 212 days of attacks by the most advanced technical weapons against us. We will not forget and we will not forgive. Everything we have witnessed in this war will be written in history. Palestinians will survive until we get our freedom.”

“We have survived to return to our lands.”

 

No confirmation from Israeli side

It’s very understandable to see the enthusiasm, excitement and relief in Gaza after Hamas accepted the terms of a ceasefire proposal. However, from the Israeli side, there is absolutely no confirmation.

In fact from Israeli media, a suggestion is being made that this is not a proposal Israel will accept. Channel 13 in Israel, which is usually quite reliable, says that Hamas has accepted a watered-down Egyptian proposal, which is not acceptable to the Israelis.

Only a couple of hours ago, Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, told the families of the captives that Hamas has rejected all proposals that would enable us to recover the prisoners, and so it requires us to begin an operation in Rafah.

We’ve not been privy to the exact details of what this agreement [Hamas has accepted] is, but there’s nothing official from the Israelis.


Does the Hamas announcement mean a finalised agreement?

It had been clear something major was developing in the ceasefire talks after CIA chief William Burns travelled to Doha on Sunday, but details are key, according to Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra.

“We know this is a phased plan. We know it’s based on an exchange of captives and prisoners as part of a ceasefire, followed by part two, including another exchange. Phase three is going to be more about the reconstruction [of Gaza],” he said.

“Hamas has been insisting until yesterday evening that it will accept a deal if there is a strong guarantee, particularly from the Americans and the mediators that there is going to be a permanent ceasefire.”

Alhelbarra said it is still unclear which terms Hamas has agreed to or whether Israel will follow suit.

“I think we have to give it the upcoming hours to understand exactly what Hamas means. Does it mean that they got strong guarantees from the mediators – Qatar particularly, and the Egyptians – that as soon as they say yes, during the three phases of the agreement, there will be no breach of the ceasefire? We don’t know yet.”

“For me, a strong indication is when the Qataris come out and say publicly there is a deal.”



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SvennoJ on 06 May 2024

‘A huge decision for Israel’

Former Israeli diplomat Alon Liel has spoken to Al Jazeera about the situation Israel’s government and Netanyahu are finding themselves in after Hamas’s announcement.

“There is strong pressure from inside Israel on the government to go to Rafah, so I think the Israeli government faces a dilemma to go with the world or to go with the Israelis, to keep the government or to keep our international contacts,” he said.

“It’s a huge decision for Israel, really huge,” Liel added, noting that even if there is a deal, many people in Israel “will be frightened that we lost the war or that Hamas stays in Gaza”.

He went on to say: “If he [Netanyahu] accepts a deal, it might be the end of his political career. But then if he doesn’t accept a deal, we will have a series of international decisions against us in international courts, in the UN, by different governments, sanctions, recognition of Palestine.

“So I see it as a historic decision for Netanyahu.”


Continue on with ‘complete defeat’ of Hamas: Israeli minister

Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has responded to Hamas’s agreement to a truce proposal. He says the group is playing “games” that have only “one answer, an immediate order to occupy Rafah!”

“Increasing military pressure, and continuing the complete defeat of Hamas, until its complete defeat,” he added in a social media post.

Ben-Gvir has been among the members of the Israeli government urging Netanyahu to continue fighting in Gaza until Hamas is defeated.


US ‘reviewing’ Hamas’s response to ceasefire proposal

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says Washington will “withhold judgement” on Hamas’s response to the ceasefire proposal until it has time to fully review it.

“I can confirm that Hamas has issued a response. We are reviewing that response now and discussing it with our partners in the region,” he said.

Miller declined to say whether Hamas agreed to a US-approved offer or to a different version of the proposal. “As you know, [CIA] Director Burns is in the region working on this in real time. We will be discussing this response with our partners over the coming hours,” he continued.



SvennoJ on 06 May 2024

Hamas deputy leader says US President Biden personally committed to implementation of ceasefire deal

Khalil al-Hayya confirmed to Al Jazeera that there are three phases to the ceasefire deal, but added that mediators had told Hamas that the United States president was committed to ensuring the implementation of the agreement.

There has been no confirmation of this from the American side.

Al-Hayya added that the first phase would see the return of displaced Palestinians in Gaza to their homes, and the flow of aid, fuel and relief materials into Gaza.

He added that 50 Palestinian prisoners would be released for each female captive held by Hamas in that first phase. In the second phase, Hamas would release male captives for an undetermined number of Palestinian prisoners.

The third phase of the agreement would include the start of the implementation of a reconstruction plan for a period of three to five years.


Biden administration says ceasefire deal is ‘top priority’ for US

State Department spokesperson Miller declines to provide a timeframe for how long it would take Washington to assess Hamas’s response to the ceasefire proposal, but he says the CIA director is “literally working on this right now”.

Burns has been in the Middle East since Friday to help finalise the agreement.

“It’s something that is a top priority for everyone in this administration from the president on down,” Miller said. “Everyone is focused on this. Everyone is trying to get a deal over the line.”


Haniyeh to Iran’s foreign minister: ‘Ball in Israel’s court. We are honest in our intentions’

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has spoken to Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh after the latter said the Palestinian group has agreed to a ceasefire proposal made by mediators.

Amirabdollahian said he was told the following by Haniyeh: “We sent Hamas’s response to the plan proposed by Egypt and Qatar to stop the attacks of the Israeli regime, exchange prisoners, lift the human blockade, and … now the ball is in the opposite court. We are honest in our intentions.”

 

‘Hamas response took Israel by surprise’

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, says Hamas’s announcement marked a new chapter in the seven-month war.

“Clearly Hamas’s positive response to the mediators’ proposal for a ceasefire has shocked and took everyone by surprise – especially those in Israel but perhaps also in the US,” Bishara said, calling it “a huge positive step in the direction towards a ceasefire”.

Bishara added that the talk about “sustained quiet” was nothing else but a euphemism for a permanent ceasefire.

“Israel does not want to hear the word ‘ceasefire’ because clearly Netanyahu cannot sell it to his cabinet,” he said.

“Hamas, apparently, because of the various pressure and mediations accepted finally the sustained quiet as the alternative to a permanent ceasefire.”

Fighting over language while multiple dozens of people day every day...

 



SvennoJ on 06 May 2024

Palestinians celebrate after Hamas’s announcement


Palestinians in Rafah celebrate after Hamas says it has accepted a ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar




US says it opposes Rafah invasion, regardless of Hamas’s ceasefire response

The US Department of State’s Matthew Miller reasserted US opposition to an Israeli assault on Rafah, which he said is separate from the push for a ceasefire.

“We cannot support an operation in Rafah as it is currently envisioned,” he said, adding that the US has not seen a credible plan to protect the 1.5 million civilians trapped in the city.

“Even absent this latest response [by Hamas], we have made clear that we do not support Israel launching a full-scale military operation in Rafah.”

Miller also expressed concern over Israel’s order to evacuate residents of eastern Rafah. “If you see 100,000 people move, you’re going to see other people in the next area move as well – which, of course, is something that you want to see happen if there’s a military operation. But the problem now is there such limited places for them to go inside Gaza,” Miller told reporters.

“And there is no effective way to distribute aid to them and make sure they have access to shelter, access to sanitation in the places that they would go.”

Cautious optimism in Deir el-Balah

There is news coming that this is not a ceasefire; people are not allowed to go back to their houses, they’re not allowed to go to Rafah, they’re not allowed to go to the red zone, people cannot go to the north. We are still waiting for an acceptance from the Israeli authorities and we are still waiting to hear from [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu.

So people are now aware that yes, this is not a ceasefire, and yes, they need to wait – but to be honest, people here are very optimistic, they are very hopeful. They stopped chanting like five minutes ago because they are tired, their voices were tired from the amount of singing and chanting.

People are very optimistic that this is going to lead to a ceasefire. People are desperate and were very thirsty to hear anything positive. Seven months of destruction, of air strikes, of famine. People are so tired, exhausted, all of these people, all they want to hear is a ceasefire and they also want to go back to their homes.

 

Palestinian President Abbas welcomes mediation efforts

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said he hopes the Israeli government will commit to stopping the war in Gaza and withdraw from the enclave, according to the Palestinian state news agency Wafa.

Moreover, Abbas said a ceasefire agreement was a top priority for since the first day of the war in Gaza.

Abbas called on the international community to put pressure on Israel and to continue efforts to end Israel’s occupation of Palestine, Wafa said.



SvennoJ on 06 May 2024

Official says Israel ‘examining’ ceasefire proposal agreed by Hamas: Reports

The Israeli government is studying the ceasefire proposal that Hamas said it had accepted, a senior Israeli official has been quoted as saying by news agencies.

“We have received the proposal and are reviewing it. It is not the framework that was agreed upon. We are examining it,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

 

Tel Aviv protest demanding release of captives held in Gaza






‘Cabinet must turn Hamas acceptance into a deal’: Captives’ families

The main organisation created by the families of captives who are still held in Gaza has welcomed the Hamas announcement. “Now is the time for the Israeli government to prove in action its commitment to its citizens,” the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.

“The cabinet must take the acceptance by Hamas and turn it into a deal for the return of all of them. The return of the abductees is the key to Israeli security.”

The families have been behind dozens of large-scale protests calling for the return of the captives since the start of the war on October 7 and have been ramping up pressure on top Israeli officials to agree to a deal.

 

Displaced Palestinians in central Gaza rejoice amid Hamas acceptance of truce proposal

Video footage obtained by Al Jazeera shows displaced Palestinians living in tents at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah celebrating Hamas’ss announcement.

“We are living with great joy, and we thank Qatar, Egypt, and everyone who stood with us to stop the war,” Abeer Salibi told Al Jazeera. “It is an indescribable feeling … and we hope that any truce will continue.”

Maha al-Sarsak, a displaced woman from the Shujayea neighbourhood in Gaza, said she had been displaced for seven months. “We hope the ceasefire efforts will continue until we return to our homes,” she said.

Israel has yet to respond to Hamas, but a short while ago said its negotiating team is “studying” the proposal agreed to by the Palestinian group.



Biden ‘briefed’ on Hamas’s response to ceasefire deal

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby has echoed comments by his colleagues at the US Department of State, saying that the US is still reviewing the response by the Palestinian group.

Kirby was also tight-lipped about what exactly Hamas agreed to, but he said that the response was “a result or at the end of” CIA director Burns’s discussions in the Middle East.

“The president has been briefed on the response,” he said. But Kirby stressed that Biden did not discuss the Hamas position during an earlier call with Netanyahu because the response had not been conveyed.

Kirby added that talks were at a “critical stage”, and that he did not want to say anything that would jeopardise the prospects of reaching an agreement.



SvennoJ on 06 May 2024

US ‘quite concerned’ about Al Jazeera closure in Israel

US Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller says the administration of President Joe Biden opposes Israel’s move to shut down the network in Israel.

“We have seen the announcement from the government of Israel about closing Al Jazeera; we have made quite clear that we support media freedom all around the world, including in Israel, and that we are quite concerned about this action,” Miller said.


Syrian soldier dies after Israeli raid: Monitor

A Syrian soldier has died of his wounds after Israeli raids on the country’s south, which came in alleged retaliation for rocket fire, a war monitor has said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the country’s 13-year-old civil conflict, reported late Sunday that “groups affiliated with Lebanon’s Hezbollah shot three rockets from Syrian territory” towards the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

In response, Israeli forces targeted “three positions in Deraa province” in southern Syria, said the Britain-based Observatory.

It said that “a member of the [Syrian] regime forces was killed” after being wounded in the bombardment.

 

Israeli war cabinet decides to send negotiators for talks, continue Rafah operation

Ofir Gendelman, the Arabic language spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, says on X that the proposal Hamas agreed to for a ceasefire in Gaza is “far from Israel’s necessary demands,” but that a delegation will be sent nonetheless.

“The war cabinet unanimously decided that Israel would continue the operation in Rafah in order to exert military pressure on Hamas,” Gendelman added “with the aim of pushing forward the release of our kidnapped and achieving the goals of the war”.

How is it possible that Hamas finally accepts a deal and the opposite party comes with this... Did Hamas accept a US made proposal?