Israel launched a significant military operation against Hamas forces in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, seizing control of a key border crossing and cutting off most aid into the territory. This action occurred just a day before indirect talks on a ceasefire deal were set to resume.
Images released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) showed tanks flying large Israeli flags driving through the post and crushing a concrete sign reading "I Love Gaza." Israel's defense minister, Yoav Gallant, stated that the offensive would continue until Hamas forces in Rafah, as well as the entire Gaza Strip, were "eliminated," or until the militant Islamist organization began releasing hostages. A government spokesperson described this as the first stage of a broader effort targeting Hamas.
The Israeli operation followed an announcement by Hamas leaders that they would accept a recent proposal for a ceasefire deal put forward by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
Reports suggest that the proposal Hamas agreed to involves three consecutive phases, including different ratios for exchanges of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails for hostages, and a series of staged withdrawals of Israeli forces from zones in Gaza. Further negotiations could take many days or even weeks, during which fighting is likely to continue as both sides seek leverage in negotiations, analysts said.
Aid officials in the territory stated that the flow of humanitarian assistance through the Rafah crossing had been entirely halted, leaving reserves of fuel only sufficient to run the extensive relief operation in Gaza for another day. Parts of Gaza are facing famine, and everywhere there is acute hardship.
The Israeli military told civilians in eastern neighborhoods of Rafah to head for what it calls an "expanded humanitarian zone" at al-Mawasi along the coast and around the largely deserted city of Khan Younis. Thousands have left Rafah since the warning, in battered trucks, pushing trolleys, on donkey carts, and walking, but aid agencies said neither location could accommodate a new influx.
A total of 34,789 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in the conflict, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's grip on power could slip if he loses the support of far-right coalition allies who oppose any concessions to Hamas, but there is also pressure to free the remaining hostages. Netanyahu stated that capitulating to Hamas's demands would exhibit terrible weakness to friends and enemies and bring closer the next war.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an umbrella group, appealed to several countries to exert influence on the Israeli government and push for an agreement. Hamas's armed wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, claimed that a 70-year-old Israeli hostage died after succumbing to wounds from Israeli shelling, although there was no independent confirmation of the claim.