Israel to proceed with Rafah invasion despite Hamas approval of ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that his war cabinet approved continuing military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah even though Hamas approved a ceasefire proposal mediated by Egypt and Qatar.

“The war cabinet unanimously decided that Israel continue the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas in order to advance the release of our hostages and the other goals of the war,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

“In parallel, even though the Hamas proposal is far from Israel’s necessary demands, Israel will send a working delegation to the mediators in order to exhaust the possibility of reaching an agreement under conditions acceptable to Israel,” it said.