Israel closed its main crossing point for delivering badly needed humanitarian aid for Gaza on Sunday after Hamas militants attacked it, while the defence minister claimed Hamas wasn’t serious about a ceasefire deal and warned of “a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah and other places across all of Gaza.”
The developments struck blows to ongoing ceasefire efforts in Cairo, mediated by Egypt and Qatar, after reported signs of progress.
Hamas sent a delegation to the talks but Israel has not. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said, “We see signs that Hamas does not intend to go to any agreement.”
Another threat to the talks came Sunday when Israel ordered the local offices of Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network to close, accusing it of broadcasting anti-Israel incitement. The ban did not appear to affect the channel’s operations in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from hard-liners in his government, continued to lower expectations for a ceasefire deal, calling the Hamas demands “extreme” — including the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and an end to the war. That would equal surrender after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that triggered the fighting, Netanyahu said.
Hamas didn’t immediately respond to Gallant’s comments. In an earlier statement, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the militant group was serious and positive about the negotiations and stopping Israeli aggression in Gaza is the main priority.
Projectiles launched at Kerem Shalom
But Israel’s government again vowed to press on with a military operation in Rafah, the southernmost Gaza city on the border with Egypt where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents now seek shelter from Israeli attacks. Rafah is a key entry point for aid.
Kerem Shalom, now closed, is another.
The Israeli military reported 10 projectiles were launched at the crossing in southern Israel and said its fighter jets later struck the source.
Hamas said it had been targeting Israeli soldiers in the area. Israel’s Channel 12 TV channel said 10 people were wounded, three seriously.
It was unclear how long the crossing would be closed.
Gaza’s vast humanitarian needs put further pressure on the ceasefire talks. The proposal that Egyptian mediators had put to Hamas sets out a three-stage process that would bring an immediate, six-week truce and partial release of Israeli hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack, and would include some sort of Israeli pullout. The initial stage would last for 40 days. Hamas would start by releasing female civilian hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Netanyahu claimed that Israel has shown willingness to make concessions but said it “will continue fighting until all of its objectives are achieved.” That includes the stated aim of crushing Hamas. Israel says it must target Rafah to strike remaining fighters there despite warnings from the U.S. and others about the danger to civilians.
As reports of a renewed ceasefire between Israel and Hamas circulate, Palestinians in Gaza are skeptical anything will come of it as they deal with the aftermath of another attack in Rafah.
In later remarks for Israel’s annual Holocaust memorial day, Netanyahu added: “We will defend ourselves in every way. We will overcome our enemies and we will ensure our security — in the Gaza Strip, on the Lebanese border, everywhere.”
The Hamas-led cross-border attack in southern Israel seven months ago killed some 1,200 people. Militants took 250 others hostage and Israel says they still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others. Netanyahu is under growing pressure from some hostages’ families to make a deal to end the war and get hostages freed.
Six months into the Israel-Hamas war, Sajjan Gohel, international security director at the Asia-Pacific Foundation, discusses how the conflict has impacted the region and where it might go from here.
Israeli’s air and ground offensive has killed over 34,500 people, according to Palestinian health officials, who don’t differentiate between civilians and combatants. They say women and children make up a majority of those killed.
Israel blames Hamas for civilian deaths, accusing it of embedding in residential and public areas. The Israeli military says it has killed 13,000 militants, without providing evidence to back up the claim.