Israel starts Rafah operation after Hamas agrees to truce deal

JERUSALEM, CAIRO, WASHINGTON: The Israeli military said on Monday (May 6) it was currently conducting targeted strikes against targets belonging to the Islamist group Hamas in the eastern part of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

An AFP correspondent reported Israel carried out intense air strikes on Rafah late in the day, which were virtually continuous for 30 minutes.

Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a broadcast address that Israeli aircraft hit "more than 50 terror targets" around Rafah.

That Rafah operation began as Israel's government said it would send a delegation to mediators to discuss a Gaza truce proposal accepted by Hamas, but which it called "far from Israel's demands".

"Even though the Hamas proposal is far from Israel's essential demands, Israel will send a working-level delegation to the mediators," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement after a war cabinet meeting.

"The war cabinet has unanimously decided that Israel is continuing the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas in order to advance the release of our hostages and the other objectives of the war," the statement also said.

UN CALLS FOR ISRAEL & HAMAS TO GO "EXTRA MILE"

The head of the United Nations called for Israel and Hamas to "go the extra mile needed" to seal a truce and "stop the present suffering" in their devastating war in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier on Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also said he was "deeply concerned" by indications showing a large-scale Israeli military operation in the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah may be "imminent," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

In the US, President Joe Biden, also seeking to push a Gaza ceasefire, on Monday warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against invading Rafah as Israel defiantly issued evacuation orders and carried out intense air strikes on the crowded Gaza city.

The United States said it was reviewing a response from Hamas, which said it has accepted a deal to halt seven months of war and free hostages, with CIA Director Bill Burns in the region to negotiate through Arab allies.

Biden told Netanyahu in April that invading Rafah would be a "mistake," and Secretary of State Antony Blinken told him last week in Jerusalem that there should be no offensive due to the safety of some 1.2 million civilians sheltering there. 

"The president reiterated his clear position on Rafah," the White House said in a brief readout of the call.

US "NOT SEEN HUMANITARIAN PLAN THAT IS CREDIBLE"

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said afterwards that the United States has not yet "seen a humanitarian plan that is credible and that is implementable."

But hours after a call between Biden and Netanyahu, Israel issued its second warning in a day for Palestinians to evacuate Rafah and said it was preparing for a ground invasion.

In one area of progress, the United States said Netanyahu agreed to keep aid flowing through Kerem Shalom, the key crossing between Gaza and Israel. Four Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack at the crossing on Sunday claimed by the armed wing of Hamas.

The Biden administration said that Burns was discussing the Hamas response in the region and did not immediately characterize it, but voiced hope for an agreement.

"We continue to believe that a hostage deal is in the best interests of the Israeli people; it's in the best interests of the Palestinian people" Miller said.

EGYPT & QATAR INVOLVED WITH CEASEFIRE TALKS

Egypt, which borders Rafah and has a peace treaty with Israel, and Qatar, a US ally that is also home to Hamas leaders, have taken the lead in the ceasefire negotiations.

Biden also discussed developments at a closed-door lunch with King Abdullah II of Jordan, which has a large Palestinian community and is especially sensitive to turbulence to its west.

Jordan's King Abdullah II warned during a meeting with US President Joe Biden on Monday that an Israeli attack on Rafah threatens to lead to a "new massacre", the Jordanian royal court said in a statement.

Israel's determination to press ahead in Rafah underscores the difficulties Biden has had exerting any leverage from being Israel's main military and diplomatic backer.

In a shift in early April after months of unstinting support, Biden warned Netanyahu that US policy on Gaza depended on the protection of civilians and aid workers.

The warning, which followed the killing of seven aid workers in an Israeli drone strike, was the first hint of possible conditions for Washington's military support for Israel.

But since then, the United States has declined to curb the multi-billion-dollar assistance pipeline to Israel, saying it has been allowing more aid to Gaza.

The United States also offered public criticism Monday over Israel's shutdown of Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based news channel that has been a popular news source in the Arab world.

"We think Al Jazeera ought to be able to operate in Israel and operate in other countries in the region," Miller said.