Tom O'Connor
Israeli leadership is pressing forward with a planned offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah despite U.S. protests and an announcement by Hamas that the group would agree to a ceasefire proposal mediated by Qatar and Egypt.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Monday that it had begun "conducting targeted strikes against Hamas terror targets in eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip."
Hours earlier — coming after the IDF announced a "temporary evacuation" of residents in parts of Rafah — Hamas issued a statement saying the head of the group's Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, had informed senior Qatari and Egypt officials of a breakthrough in the months-long negotiations for a new ceasefire.
In calls with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel, Haniyeh "informed them of the Hamas movement's approval of their proposal regarding the ceasefire agreement," according to the statement.
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