The Israel Defense Forces began targeted airstrikes against Hamas in eastern Rafah on Monday night local time despite claims from the terrorist organization that it had agreed to a ceasefire deal.
The Israeli War Cabinet has decided that Israel should go ahead with its operation in Rafah on Monday to “exert military pressure on Hamas in order to promote the release of our hostages and the other goals of the war,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Earlier on Monday, the IDF announced evacuation orders for the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge during the war.
Following that announcement, Hamas released a statement claiming it had agreed to a ceasefire deal, though the claim appears to be more maneuvering to get Israel to agree to a deal that is more favorable to it.
“At the same time, even though Hamas’ proposal is far from Israel’s necessary requirements, Israel will send a working level delegation to the mediators,” Netanyahu’s office added.
Speaking during the White House briefing, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Hamas has responded to a ceasefire proposal, but he said he would not comment until the United States finished “reviewing” the response.
The U.S. does not support Israel’s operations in Rafah due to the significant concern that there could be mass civilian casualties.
“We still believe that reaching an agreement is the absolute best outcome,” Kirby said.
CIA Director Bill Burns, the lead of the U.S. delegation on negotiations, is in the region. President Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu on Monday prior to Hamas’s announcement.
Israeli leaders repeatedly stated their intent to carry out significant operations in Rafah to complete their north-to-south sweep of Gaza to defeat Hamas. U.S. and other world leaders have warned that these operations could result in catastrophic civilian casualties without properly accounting for the more than a million Palestinians who have sought refuge there.
Israel has yet to convince the U.S. that its plans will be enough to safeguard the overwhelming civilian population in Rafah.
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“We’ve seen kind of the concepts but nothing detailed at this point,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said on Monday.
The U.S. has sought for several weeks to convince Israel not to go through with a ground invasion of Rafah. The Israelis’ decision to evacuate parts of Rafah came a day after a Hamas rocket attack killed three IDF soldiers and injured several others. The attack occurred at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, the primary hub for humanitarian aid to get into Gaza.