Israel-Hamas war day 213: What's going on in Gaza?

United States and Qatari officials are pressing Israel and Hamas to make a deal, a US source told The Jerusalem Post on Monday, after the terror group accepted a ceasefire agreement just as it seemed that the talks had collapsed in Cairo.

"Essentially, the talks fell through, they were on life support, which is what prompted [CIA Director] Bill Burns to get on a plane and go to Qatar,” the source said.

"Both the Americans and the Qataris, in a display of shared responsibility, engaged in heavy pressure and diplomacy, striving to breathe life back into the framework of an agreement." 

Dozens of Gazans are trying to cross the border to Egypt from Rafah, according to an Egyptian report on Monday.

The report comes as an anticipated Rafah operation has seemingly moved forward.

Israel has reportedly begun launching airstrikes and evacuated some 100,000 of the over one million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant clarified that the invasion was being rolled out incrementally and in multiple stages so that if Hamas at some point agreed to a reasonable hostage exchange deal that was accepted by Israel, it could be halted.

Maariv later reported residents from Rafah tried crossing to Egyptian territory from the western side of the border between Rafah and the Sinai Peninsula.

According to the report, Gazans attempting to cross the border were stopped by Egyptian military forces.

Fleeing the Gaza conflict

Last week, the Palestinian Embassy in Egypt announced it was seeking temporary residency permits for tens of thousands of Palestinians who fled from Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas, which it says would ease conditions for them until the conflict is over. 

Sirens were sounded in Sderot and the Gaza Envelope on Monday, this is despite earlier reports that Hamas had accepted a ceasefire.

A spokeswoman for the municipality of Sderot issued said that  6 rockets were launched toward the city, with 2 of the rockets rockets intercepted, and the remaining 4 falling outside the city.

Dozens of Gazans are trying to cross the border to Egypt from Rafah according to an Egyptian report on Monday.

The report comes as an anticipated Rafah operation has seemingly moved forward.

The IDF Spokesperson said on Monday night that the military conducted precise, targeted strikes against Hamas terror targets in Eastern Rafah. 

The Prime Minister's Office said earlier on Monday night that the War Cabinet had agreed to continue with Israel's planned Rafah operation. 

This comes despite Hamas's earlier agreement with the Qatari and Egyptian ceasefire proposals. 

A former Senior Israeli security source told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that the proposed "deal" Hamas said they agreed upon doesn't actually exist.

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A former Senior Israeli security source told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that the proposed "deal" Hamas said they agreed upon doesn't actually exist.

"This so-called 'deal' is proof that we've just started to apply pressure [on Hamas] by promoting a ground entrance to Rafah, and we suddenly received a green light from Hamas for a prisoner exchange deal and a ceasefire."

The source added that the reported ceasefire deal "is a proposal that no one in the Israeli administration recognizes. It's a proposal Hamas invented. They are playing with us. They are telling the world - 'we agreed to a ceasefire,' to try to prevent Israel from a ground incursion."

Hostage family members blocked parts of Ayalon highway on Monday night, calling for a return of the hostages, Israeli media reported on Monday. 

The demonstrations came shortly after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh had informed Qatar's prime minister and Egypt's intelligence chief that it had accepted their ceasefire proposal.

Hamas is talking tough ahead of a possible Israeli operation in eastern Rafah. Israel called for residents to evacuate several areas in eastern Rafah near the Israeli border. It comes a day after Hamas launched 114mm rockets at Israel and killed three soldiers and wounded other soldiers.

Now pro-Iran media is highlighting Hamas preparations and how Hamas is trying to get the international community involved and also mobilize pro-Iran proxies in the region. This could be a ”perfect storm” against Israel, one pro-Iran report at Al-Mayadeen says.

Hamas said that its “resistance” is fully prepared for any attack, the pro-Iran Al-Mayadeen said, reflecting a Hamas statement. Hamas called on UNRWA and other NGOs to “remain in their place” in Rafah.

Hamas says there are 1.5 million people in Rafah and it seems Hamas wants to hide behind them if there is a battle. Hamas is also relying on the Palestinian Authority to prevent an operation in Rafah.

The Hamas access to influential NGOs, countries and the PA illustrate how Hamas has many backers regionally and globally. The group is trying to pull out all the stops to not be evicted from Rafah.

Palestinian Hamas militants take part in an anti-Israel rally in Gaza City May 22, 2021 (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMED SALEM)

This is likely because Hamas is hiding tunnels and weapons manufacturing in Rafah. It wants access to humanitarian aid also so it can distribute the aid. Hamas has used control over aid for many years to control Gaza. Hamas also called on the US to “intervene.”

Rafah crossing area operating as usual

Hamas has told the Qatari and Egyptian mediators that it agreed to the Qatari-Egyptian ceasefire proposal, the terror group told Al Jazeera on Monday evening. 

Earlier today, it was reported that Hamas suspended hostage talks as Israel ignored the warnings of world leaders and pushed forward with plans for a military operation in Rafah, starting with the evacuation of Palestinians from that area of Gaza on Monday.

"We confirm that any military offensive in Rafah will not be a picnic to the fascist occupation army,” Hamas said in a statement. “Our brave resistance on top of them, the Qassam Brigades, is fully prepared to defend our people and defeat this enemy.”

A Hamas source told Al Araby Al Jadeed that it had suspended third-party talks for a hostage deal, which it had participated in along with CIA Director William Burns and Egyptian and Qatari officials in Cairo on Sunday. 

Israel had been expected to send a delegation, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opted not to have a team attend, preferring to wait for a formal from Hamas.

The Hamas team left Cairo on Sunday, with plans to return on Tuesday. Burn went to Doha to consul to with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani, and is expected to visit Israel this week.

Protesters in Tel Aviv demanding a hostage deal, April 24, 2024 (credit: NEVET KAHANA)

Kerem Shalom attack caused ceasefire talks to falter

US President Joe Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for half an hour on Monday and was also expected to hold a private meeting in the White House with Jordan’s King Abdullah.

Israel is winning the war. Just not the way people and the government may think.

The government set unrealistic goals for the war and it would have been wiser if the government had been more modest with the war aims.

But the fact is that if the government had set more reasonable goals, and if one looks at such goals that were achievable and desirable, Israel has quite a few achievements to date.

The majority of Hamas's organized military is eliminated

The IDF has eliminated 80% of Hamas's organized military. With or without the potential impending invasion of Rafah, the IDF has already taken apart 19 out of 24 Hamas battalions, killed around 14,000 terrorists, wounded potentially close to a similar number, and arrested thousands more.

In purely quantitative terms, there are still maybe 30% or more Hamas foot soldiers who faded into the civilian population. But as a unified and organized combat terror organization, the IDF has demolished not just a majority but the vast majority of Hamas's military force.

Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip, February 8, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/DYLAN MARTINEZ)

In all of the past rounds with Hamas, the most terrorists Israel ever killed was just over 1,000. The blow Hamas has suffered is not worse than the past rounds. It has been a blow of a whole different order of magnitude.

Majority of rockets stopped