Israel-Hamas (Gaza) War

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No immediate deal

Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip today after fleeing Rafah. Photo: Ramadan Abed/Reuters Israel said today that an Egyptian-Qatari brokered hostage and ceasefire deal accepted by Hamas is "far" from its requirements, but it plans to send a delegation to Cairo tomorrow to continue indirect talks, Axios' Barak Ravid reports. Why it matters: If Israel and Hamas can agree to conditions, it could lead to the release of up to 33 hostages being held in Gaza and to a short-term pause in fighting in the enclave. State of play: Israel today began a ground operation in the eastern part of Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than 1 million Palestinians have been sheltering. Israel's war Cabinet unanimously decided, after Hamas presented its response, to move forward with its military operation in Rafah. It's aiming to "exert military pressure on Hamas in order to promote the release of our hostages and the other goals of the war," per the Prime Minister's Office. ? President Biden spoke with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu earlier today about hostage deal negotiations and Israel's preparations for the possible ground invasion, U.S. and Israeli officials said. Go deeper.

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Israel begins military operation in Rafah, hours after Hamas agrees to a cease-fire

Israeli leaders have approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, and Israeli forces are now striking targets in the area, officials announced Monday. The move came hours after Hamas announced it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, which could end seven months of war in Gaza.

https://apnews.com/live/cease-fire-israel-hamas-updates?

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Israeli forces take control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt The Israeli military said it had established “operational control” over the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip overnight Monday into Tuesday. Footage broadcast on Israeli media showed an Israeli flag flying on the Gaza side of the crossing, though the army refused to comment. Read more.

Recent developments: On Monday night, the Israeli military said it was carrying out “targeted strikes” in eastern Rafah. It said 20 Hamas militants were killed in the operation and it discovered three tunnel shafts. An Israeli army official said the vast majority of people located in the evacuation zone have left.   Both Rafah and the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza, the other main aid entry point, have been closed for at least the past two days. The Rafah crossing is the main route for aid entering the besieged enclave and exit for those able to flee into Egypt. Though smaller entry points still operate, the closure is a blow to efforts to maintain the flow of medicine and food keeping Gaza’s population alive.   Hamas said Monday it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but Israel said the deal did not meet its core demands, pushing ahead with an assault on Rafah. Still, Israel said it would continue negotiations.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Live updates: Israel-Hamas cease-fire negotiations on a knife’s edge   Biden warns Netanyahu against major Rafah offensive as divide between the 2 leaders grows   The yearly memorial march at the former death camp at Auschwitz is overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas war

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Israel frustrated with hostage talks

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike east of Rafah yesterday. Photo: Ismael Abu Dayyah/AP Israeli officials claim the Biden administration knew about the latest hostage and ceasefire deal proposal that Egypt and Qatar negotiated with Hamas — but didn't brief them before Hamas announced it had accepted it yesterday, Axios' Barak Ravid reports. Why it matters: The episode has created deep disappointment and suspicion among senior Israeli officials regarding the U.S. role in the hostage deal talks. It could hurt future negotiations. A senior U.S. official pushed back: "American diplomats have been engaged with Israeli counterparts. There have been no surprises." The official said the Biden administration sees Hamas' response as a counter-proposal, not a new proposal. ? Behind the scenes: Three Israeli officials said yesterday's Hamas announcement about accepting a ceasefire surprised the Israeli government — and that Israel didn't receive the text of the group's response from the mediators until an hour after Hamas released its statement. When the Israelis read Hamas' response, they were surprised to see it contained "many new elements" that weren't part of the previous proposal that Israel agreed on, and that was presented to Hamas by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar 10 days ago, the officials said. "It looked like a whole new proposal," one official said. Two Israeli officials said the feeling is that "Israel got played" by the U.S., and the mediators who drafted "a new deal" and weren't transparent. The other side: A source with knowledge of the negotiations said the U.S. invited the Israelis to Cairo over the weekend but they chose not to send a team. One Israeli official admitted it was a mistake that led Israel to have less visibility into the talks. Data: IDF. Chart: Axios Visuals ⚡ Breaking: Today, an Israeli tank brigade seized control of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt as Israel moved forward with an offensive. Get the latest.

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Israel seizes Gaza’s vital Rafah crossing, but the US says it isn’t the full invasion many fear

CAIRO (AP) — Israeli troops seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday in what the White House described as a limited operation, as fears mount of a full-scale invasion of the southern city and talks with Hamas over a cease-fire and hostage release remain on a knife’s edge.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-war-05-07-2024-113bf4ee5dad87dc5c003d76ed2785bf?

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Heavy fighting in Gaza’s Rafah keeps aid crossings closed and sends 110,000 civilians fleeing

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Heavy fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Rafah has left crucial nearby aid crossings inaccessible and forced more than 110,000 people to flee north, U.N. officials said Friday.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-05-10-2024-936d54a23f7db2e6e6f910216a703ab7?

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Israel moves deeper into Rafah and fights Hamas militants regrouping in northern Gaza

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The exodus of Palestinians from Gaza’s last refuge accelerated Sunday as Israeli forces pushed deeper into the southern city of Rafah. Israel also pounded the territory’s devastated north, where some Hamas militants have regrouped in areas the military said it had cleared months ago.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-05-12-2024-c61fbe06bc5c1a7c85ac18a542e8776e?

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Israeli army finds bodies of 3 hostages in Gaza killed at Oct. 7 music festival

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said Friday its troops in Gaza found the bodies of three Israeli hostages killed by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack, including German-Israeli Shani Louk.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-hostages-shani-louk-a37e4fd656b46be36c4c659a9c2aac7d?

IDF recovers bodies of four hostages held by Hamas in Gaza

Israel Defense Forces identified a fourth hostage whose body was retrieved with those of three others held by Hamas in Gaza, the IDF announced Saturday.

https://www.axios.com/2024/05/17/gaza-israel-hostages-bodies-found-idf?

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With Hamas holding firm and fighting back in Gaza, Israel faces only bad options Hamas is still putting up a fight after seven brutal months of war with Israel, regrouping in some of the hardest-hit areas in northern Gaza and resuming rocket attacks into nearby Israeli communities. Israel initially made tactical advances against Hamas. But those early gains have given way to a grinding struggle against an adaptable insurgency — and a growing feeling among many Israelis that their military faces only bad options. Read more.

What are the scenarios: Occupation: Far-right members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, who hold the key to his remaining in power, have called for a permanent occupation of Gaza. Most Israelis are opposed, pointing to the immense costs. Netanyahu himself has said Israel will maintain security control over Gaza, but delegate civilian administration to local Palestinians and suggested that Arab and other countries assist with governance and rebuilding. Arab states have roundly rejected this scenario.   A U.S. proposal: Arab states have coalesced around a U.S. proposal wherein a reformed Palestinian Authority would govern Gaza with the assistance of Arab and Muslim nations, normalizing relations with Israel in return for a U.S. defense pact. But U.S. and Saudi officials say that hinges on Israel committing to a credible path to eventual Palestinian statehood. Netanyahu has ruled out such a scenario.   A deal with Hamas: Hamas has proposed a very different bargain — one that might even be more palatable to Israelis than the U.S.-Saudi deal. The militant group has proposed a phased agreement in which it would release all of the hostages in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners — including senior militants — as well as the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, a lengthy cease-fire and reconstruction. That would almost certainly leave Hamas in control of Gaza and potentially allow it to rebuild its military capabilities.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Israel’s army says the bodies of 3 more hostages killed on Oct 7. were recovered overnight from Gaza   The top UN court is set to rule on a request for it to order Israel to halt its offensive in Gaza   Dave Chappelle says there’s a ‘genocide’ in the Gaza Strip

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Palestinian medics say Israeli airstrikes kill 35 in Gaza’s Rafah as displaced people are hit

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian health workers said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 35 people Sunday and hit tents for displaced people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, and “numerous” others were trapped in flaming debris. Gaza’s Health Ministry said women and children made up most of the dead and dozens of wounded.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-05-26-2024-eb25eb70d2c7b9e6bcd0497060eccbca?

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Israel admits "tragic mistake"

A Palestinian boy at the site of last night's Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced people, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo: Mohammed Salem/Reuters The Israel Defense Forces opened an investigation into an airstrike last night that killed at least 45 Palestinians at a tent camp for displaced people in Rafah, Axios' Barak Ravid reports. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the civilian deaths "a tragic mistake." Behind the scenes: The White House is now assessing whether the Israeli airstrike violated President Biden's "red line," two U.S. officials told Axios. Biden threatened earlier this month to suspend the delivery of some U.S.-made offensive weapons if Israel entered population centers in Rafah, the city in southern Gaza viewed as Hamas' last stronghold. U.S. officials later explained that a humanitarian crisis, as a result of the mass displacement of civilians from Rafah, could also constitute a violation of Biden's red line. What they're saying: "The devastating images following the IDF strike in Rafah last night that killed dozens of innocent Palestinians are heartbreaking," a White House National Security Council spokesperson told Axios. "Israel has a right to go after Hamas ... but as we've been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians," the spokesperson said. Keep reading.

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As Israel intensifies attacks on Rafah, desperate Palestinians are living in tents and searching for food Israel’s attacks on Rafah have sent nearly a million Palestinians fleeing the southern Gaza city. Most have already been displaced multiple times during Israel’s nearly 8-month-old war in Gaza. Read more.

Key developments: Palestinians have largely been on their own to resettle their families and find the basics for survival. In tent camps, they dig trenches to use as toilets. Fathers search for food and water while children look through garbage and wrecked buildings for scraps of wood or cardboard for their mothers to burn for cooking.   The situation has been worsened by a dramatic plunge in the amount of food, fuel and other supplies reaching the U.N. and other aid groups to distribute to the population. Previously, the U.N. was receiving several hundred trucks a day. That rate has dropped to an average of 53 trucks a day since May 6, according to the latest figures from the U.N. humanitarian office. Some 600 trucks a day are needed to stave off starvation, according to USAID.   Most of those fleeing Rafah have poured into a humanitarian zone declared by Israel that is centered on Muwasi, a largely barren strip of coastal land. Much of the zone has no charity kitchens or food market, no hospitals operating, only a few field hospitals and even smaller medical tents that can’t handle emergencies, according to testimony from humanitarian group Mercy Corps.

Related coverage ➤ Spain and Norway formally recognize a Palestinian state as EU's rift with Israel widens Israeli strikes kill 16 in Rafah, medics say, as residents report heavy fighting Netanyahu says deadly Israeli Rafah strike was result of a 'tragic mishap'

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Israeli strikes kill at least 37 Palestinians, most in tents, near Gaza’s Rafah as offensive expands

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli shelling and airstrikes killed at least 37 people, most of them sheltering in tents, outside the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight and on Tuesday — pummeling the same area where strikes triggered a deadly fire days earlier in a camp for displaced Palestinians — according to witnesses, emergency workers and hospital officials.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-05-28-2024-21ea44e3b514d3f3f2bd26a33f157e48?

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Gaza

 

President Joe Biden is not altering his policy toward Israel following the recent Israeli strike that killed more than 45 people at a displacement camp in Rafah, the White House said Tuesday. Despite international outrage over the strike, the White House indicated that the attack did not cross a red line that would affect US support. Notably, munitions made in the US were used in the deadly strike, a CNN analysis has found. Also on Tuesday, the temporary pier constructed by the US military to transport aid into Gaza broke apart in heavy seas, the Pentagon said. The repairs will take more than a week, further delaying efforts to get the maritime corridor fully operating.

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Israel says it’s taken control of key area of Gaza’s border with Egypt awash in smuggling tunnels

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military said Wednesday it seized control of a strategic corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt to cut off smuggling tunnels as it tries to destroy the militant Hamas group in a war now in its eighth month.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-05-29-2024-7952f779552f41ef6fb44c3b662f5c48?

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Israel could have used smaller weapons against Hamas to avoid deaths in Gaza tent fire, experts say

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense experts who have reviewed debris images from an Israeli airstrike that ignited a deadly fire in a camp for displaced Palestinians questioned why Israel did not use smaller, more precise weapons when so many civilians were nearby. They said the bombs used were likely U.S.-made.

https://apnews.com/article/bomb-rafah-civilians-israel-us-ada219d17926a14ca8c179338d53d109?

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Biden details a 3-phase hostage deal aimed at winding down the Israel-Hamas war

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday detailed a three-phase deal proposed by Israel to Hamas militants that he says would lead to the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza and could end the grinding, nearly 8-month-old Mideast war.

https://apnews.com/article/biden-israel-hamas-58169a607d4a7c4d7fc34f43160076b8?

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Biden's exit strategy hinges on Hamas

Palestinians flee with their belongings as smoke rises in Rafah on Thursday. Photo: Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images President Biden's boldest attempt yet to push for a hostage deal and an end to the war in Gaza now hinges on whether Hamas leaders will return to negotiations and reach a deal, Axios' Barak Ravid reports. Why it matters: U.S. officials said Biden's speech was intended to mobilize international support for the proposal and increase pressure on Hamas to take the deal. The details: Biden said the first phase of the deal would include a six-week ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas in Gaza. During that time, Hamas would release a number of hostages — including women, elderly and sick captives — in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. ⚡ The latest: Hamas, which in recent days said it won't resume negotiations if Israel doesn't first stop the war, issued a statement stressing it "looks positively" at Biden's speech. Keep reading.

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The Biden administration says Israel hasn’t crossed a red line on Rafah. This could be why

Critics charge that President Joe Biden, who declared early last month that he would not supply offensive weapons if Israel launched an all-out assault on Rafah, has come up against a domestic red line of his own and decided not to cross it: challenging ally Israel, which has support from Republicans and many American voters, in an election year. Read more.

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The Israeli army says it investigates itself. Where do those investigations stand? Throughout its seven-month war with Hamas, Israel has pledged to investigate a series of deadly events in which its military forces are suspected of wrongdoing. The commitment comes in the face of mounting claims that the country’s leaders are committing war crimes in Gaza. Read more.

Why this matters: There's rising international skepticism that Israel can fairly and diligently pursue investigations. Following a deadly strike on a tent camp in Rafah, the Israeli military said that the investigation had been turned over to a fact-finding group that operates independently from the army’s chain of command. Its findings are then handed to the military advocate general, who decides if there should be disciplinary measures. It’s not clear how long the probe will last.    Other investigations remain open, and admissions of guilt are rare. In one standout case, an attack on a World Central Kitchen convoy that killed six foreign aid workers and a Palestinian driver, the Israeli army promptly published its findings, acknowledged misconduct by its forces and dismissed two soldiers. The speed of the probe and the swift punishments were unusual as such investigations are often slow and, in most cases, end without charges being filed.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Israeli leader Netanyahu faces growing pressure at home after Biden’s Gaza proposal   Condemnations mount over Israeli proposal to label UN aid agency a terrorist group   Israel seeks a ‘governing alternative’ to Hamas in Gaza. It’s been tried and failed before

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Middle East

 

Two far-right Israeli ministers have threatened to resign and bring down the governing coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he accepts a peace proposal laid out by President Biden. Biden unveiled on Friday what he said was a three-phase Israeli proposal to end the conflict in Gaza that would pair a release of hostages with a "full and complete ceasefire." Biden said Hamas had been degraded to a point where it could no longer carry out the type of attack seen on October 7 that launched the current war in Gaza. However, the two Israeli ministers made it clear they reject an immediate ceasefire. Netanyahu has also signaled he is not ready either, casting doubt over Biden's proposal.

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Israel declares 4 more hostages are dead in Gaza, including 3 older men from Hamas video

JERUSALEM (AP) — Four more hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7 were declared dead by the Israeli military — including three older men seen in a Hamas video begging to be released. Monday’s announcement heightens pressure on the Israeli government to agree to a U.S. cease-fire proposal that could secure the return of the hostages still held in Gaza and end the eight-month war.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-06-03-2024-d31eda4128b438739d69dda0d4f7f72b?

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Biden takes a big swing at hostage-for-truce deal, puts onus on Israeli, Hamas officials to step up

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is looking past resistance from key Israeli officials as he presses Israel and Hamas to agree to a three-phase agreement that could immediately bring home dozens of Israeli hostages, free Palestinian prisoners and perhaps even lead to an endgame in the nearly eight-month-old Gaza war.

https://apnews.com/article/biden-israel-peace-proposal-gaza-hamas-mideast-c0dbf1f5df8539d47205f5509d855284?

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Gaza

 

An Israeli airstrike hit a UN-run school at a refugee camp in Gaza overnight, further inflaming tensions in the Middle East. The death toll from the strike has risen to at least 45, a spokesperson for Gaza's Ministry of Health told CNN. The Israeli military confirmed it carried out the airstrike, which it said targeted a Hamas compound operating inside the school. On Wednesday, Israel's Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant reiterated the country's military offensive in Gaza would not be halted for any resumption of ceasefire and hostage release talks with Hamas. "We are in a process of continuous engagement to wear down the enemy. Any negotiations with the terrorist organization Hamas will only be conducted under fire," Gallant said.

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?? Four Israeli hostages rescued

Relatives of rescued hostages arrive at Tel HaShomer Hospital. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich via Getty Images Israel today rescued four hostages who were taken by Hamas from the Nova music festival during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, Axios' Barak Ravid reports. It was the largest rescue operation since the start of the war, the Israeli military said. The hostages are in good health. IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the operation took place in daylight, and that Israeli forces exchanged fire with the Hamas militants who were holding the hostages. Israel rescued Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, from a refugee camp in central Gaza. Argamani and Jan were attending the festival when they were taken. Kozlov and Ziv were working as security officers, BBC reports. Clockwise from top left: Argamani, Jan, Ziv, Kozlov. Photo: IDF Argamani became one of the faces of the hostage crisis when footage of her abduction by two men on a motorbike emerged online, Reuters notes. In the footage, a distraught Argamani shouts: "Don't kill me!" After the rescue, new footage shows Argamani reuniting with her father. After eight months of war, 116 of the around 250 hostages abducted by militants are left in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. At least 40 have been declared dead. Share this story.