Israel approves plan to attack Rafah but retains hope for truce

Israel on Friday approved a potential attack on the Gaza city of Rafah, while also keeping alive hopes for a ceasefire and planning to send another delegation to Qatar to negotiate a possible hostage deal with Islamist militant group Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had approved a plan to attack the city, on the southern edge of the shattered Palestinian enclave that has been devastated after five months of war. More than half of the 2.3 million residents are sheltering in place.

Global allies and critics have urged Netanyahu to delay the attack on Rafah for fear of mass civilian casualties. But Israel says it is one of Hamas’s last strongholds and promises to destroy it and its residents to be evacuated.

In Washington, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the United States had not yet seen Rafah’s plan but hoped to. He told a regular briefing that Hamas’ hostage ceasefire proposal was within the realm of possibility and expressed cautious optimism.

Hamas has proposed a ceasefire in Gaza to mediators and the United States that would include the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for the freedom of Palestinian prisoners, 100 of whom are serving life sentences, according to a proposal seen by Reuters.

A statement from Netanyahu’s office on the planned Rafah attack said Hamas’ demand for the release of the hostages remained unrealistic, but that an Israeli delegation would still travel to Doha once the security cabinet discussed its position.

An Israeli statement said the Israel Defense Forces were in Rafah “making operational preparations to evacuate residents.”

It gave no time frame and there was no immediate evidence of additional preparations at the scene.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Austria that the United States needs to see Israel develop a clear and implementable plan for Rafah, including keeping civilians out of harm’s way.

Negotiators this week failed to reach a ceasefire in time for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Washington and Arab mediators remain determined to reach a deal to stop the attack on Rafah and allow food in to stave off starvation.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri accused Netanyahu of “manipulating … to commit more genocide.”

“He’s not interested in making a deal,” he told Reuters.

Israel denies claims of genocide, saying it was purely an effort to eliminate all Hamas fighters.

Friction is growing between Washington and Israel, with officials in President Joe Biden’s administration saying Israel is waging war with too little concern for civilians.

The U.S. Senate Majority Leader, the nation’s highest-ranking Jewish elected official and leader of Biden’s Democratic Party, called on Israel on Thursday to replace Netanyahu, whose hard-line policies he said were undermining Israel’s international standing.

Biden said Friday that Schumer gave “a good speech” and that many Americans shared the same concerns.

An Israeli airstrike destroyed a seven-story residential building in central Gaza on Friday night, causing multiple casualties, a spokesman for the civil emergency services in central Gaza said. Emergency crews were searching for casualties in the rubble, he said.

Hamas proposal

Hamas presented its first formal counter-proposal to mediators in more than a month on Thursday, more than two weeks after receiving a truce proposal approved by Israel.

The proposal, reviewed by Reuters on Friday, like previous proposals from both sides, foresees the release of dozens of hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons during a weeks-long ceasefire.

Hamas has also called for talks to end the war at a later stage, but Israel has said it is only willing to negotiate a temporary truce.

While Israel has not accepted it, its description of the terms “remains unrealistic,” which is much milder than its response to last month’s Hamas proposal, which Netanyahu called “delusional.”

Chili Troper, a member of the Israeli Security Cabinet and Minister of National Unity, said that there are still huge differences between the positions of Israel and Hamas.

He told N12 News: “We have to be honest with the public that if we reach a deal to bring our boys and girls home we will pay a heavy price.”

“It won’t be at any cost, but we shouldn’t mislead either. To bring back these people we failed to protect on October 7th, we have to pay a price. What is that price? I will. Lock it up.” . “

The war began when Hamas Islamist militants from Gaza launched an attack in Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages. Since then, Israeli attacks have killed more than 31,000 people, and nearly all Gaza residents have been forced to flee their homes, according to Palestinian data.

emergency boat

The United Nations says a quarter of Gazans are on the brink of famine, and the first ship to deliver aid by sea, the Open Arms, arrived near Gaza on Friday.

Israel said that after security checks, 130 pallets of humanitarian equipment and 115 tonnes of food and water had been unloaded onto charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) trucks for distribution.

If the new sea route is successful, it could help alleviate hunger in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people face malnutrition and hospitals in the worst-hit northern region report children dying of starvation.

However, aid agencies have repeatedly said plans to deliver aid by air and sea will not be enough as long as most land access is restricted.

Israel, which has blocked all land access to Gaza except two crossing points on the southern edge of the territory, denies responsibility for the hunger and says aid agencies should do better.

The distribution of the limited aid that arrived was chaotic and often violent.

Gaza health authorities said at least 21 people were killed and 150 injured as they queued for aid near Gaza City on Thursday night, one of the worst incidents reported so far, and accused Israeli forces of firing into the crowds.

Israel denied its troops were responsible and said Hamas militants opened fire. Reuters could not independently confirm either account.