The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has begun conducting what it describes as “targeted strikes” against Hamas operatives in eastern Rafah, a city located in the southern Gaza Strip where more than 1 million civilians from other parts of Gaza are sheltering.
Per the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the War Cabinet has unanimously decided that Israel would continue exerting “military pressure” on Hamas in Rafah to promote the release of hostages and the other goals of the war.”
Israel announced earlier Monday it was ordering around 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating from Rafah, following a statement from Hamas that it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari proposal for a cease-fire to halt the seven-month-long war with Israel in Gaza.
The Prime Minister’s Office said that although the Hamas proposal is far from Israel’s necessary requirements, Israel will send a delegation of working-class mediators to exhaust the possibility of reaching an agreement under conditions acceptable to Israel.
