Israel’s war cabinet rejected on Monday a Hamas-modified ceasefire agreement that would have seen a premature end to the war in Gaza.
“The Hamas proposal is far from meeting Israel’s core demands. Israel will continue its operation in Rafah, in order to apply military pressure on Hamas so as to advance the release of our hostages and achieve the other objectives of the war,” a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office reads.
As per the Associated Press, citing Hamas spokesperson Khalil al-Hayya, the modified agreement put forward by Hamas would have been implemented in three phases, each lasting 42 days. The first stage would involve the release of three hostages every week and a temporary cessation of Israeli military operations. The second stage would see a permanent end to the war, unrestricted movement back to northern Gaza for refugees, and the release of hundreds of dangerous Arab prisoners held by Israel. However, the specifics of what the third stage entailed were not disclosed by the spokesperson.
For its part, Israel has repeatedly rejected ending the war as part of any temporary ceasefire. In addition, Israel reportedly stipulated in its original proposal that three hostages must be released every three days for the duration of the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, the IDF has stepped up operations in Rafah by striking 50 terror targets overnight. By the early hours of Tuesday, two sources reported seeing IDF tanks enter the city. An Egyptian official told the Associated Press that the ground operation is “limited in scope” and that Israeli officials informed Egyptian mediators that it would withdraw after completing its assignment.
