Palestinians in Gaza, including Rafah, on Monday reportedly celebrated the news that Hamas had tentatively agreed to a ceasefire proposal in its war with Israel.
Al Jazeera aired footage in the afternoon of Palestinians dancing for joy after the news broke. The head of Hamas' political agency announced early Monday afternoon that it had tentatively accepted an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal. But, next steps are not clear: U.S. officials said they weren’t sure what version of a ceasefire proposal Hamas agreed to, so the details — including the length of any ceasefire — are not confirmed at this time.
Critically, Israel would have to agree to whatever Hamas greenlights. A few hours later, Israel’s military said it was striking Hamas targets in eastern Rafah — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the country’s war cabinet had “unanimously decided” to continue the operation in Rafah, but it added that Israel would send mediators to negotiate a ceasefire. Israel says the current proposal is “far from Israel’s requirements.”
