The Palestinian militant organization Hamas has approved a proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza war put forward by mediators Egypt and Qatar, according to a post in Hamas' official Telegram channel on Monday evening.
The Hamas statement said that the head of Hamas' Politburo Ismail Haniyeh "called Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and the Egyptian Minister of Intelligence Abbas Kamel, informing them of Hamas' acceptance of their proposal for a ceasefire agreement."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the announcement, WAFA news agency reported and Al Arabiya channel aired images of jubilant people in the streets. "Enough war. We are happy," one resident told the channel.
Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, dismissed the announcement as a "trick" and said the only Israeli response should be "an immediate order to conquer Rafah, increase military pressure, and continue to crush Hamas until it is utterly defeated," according to the Israeli television station Channel 12.
It was not immediately clear what conditions were included in the ceasefire proposal. Hamas sources in Beirut, however, told dpa this is "a key development."
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas over a possible deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages being held in Gaza are being conducted indirectly.
The announcement came as Israeli forces began evacuating the city of Rafah in southern Gaza on Monday as it gears up for an expected military operation there.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) called on the inhabitants of the eastern part of the city on the border with Egypt to move to the al-Mawasi camp on the Mediterranean a few kilometres to the north.
An estimated 100,000 people are affected, according to an IDF spokesman. They were informed by text message, telephone, leaflets and via Arabic-language media.
Eyewitnesses in Rafah reported that many people quickly fled, some transporting their belongings in donkey carts.
Israel's allies and other international leaders have been urgently warning against a Rafah offensive. Large numbers of Palestinian civilians have sought shelter in the city, located on the border with Egypt, after fleeing Israeli airstrikes and ground operations elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.
"We believe a military operation in Rafah right now would dramatically increase the suffering of the Palestinian people," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Monday, casting doubt on whether the evacuation demanded by Israel could be done safely.
The White House said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured US President Joe Biden in a phone call on Monday that the Kerem Shalom border crossing near Rafah will remain open for humanitarian aid.
The border crossing with Egypt is the most important corridor for the delivery of food, medicine and other urgently needed supplies to Gaza. An Egyptian security source told dpa that the border crossing remains open.
In the conversation, Biden also reaffirmed his "clear position on Rafah," according to the White House. The US, Israel's most important ally, has repeatedly expressed its opposition to the ground offensive in Rafah.
Biden also briefed Netanyahu on the status of the faltering negotiations with Hamas on a ceasefire, the White House said.
Several countries had earlier also warned Israel not to launch an offensive in Rafah, including France, Germany, Britain and Jordan, as well as the EU and the UN.
Israel wants to use the military operation in Rafah to smash Hamas' remaining battalions, which it has been fighting in the coastal strip since Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage. The more than 100 remaining hostages are believed to be held in Rafah.
Israel has been threatening to launch a ground offensive into Rafah for months, and Netanyahu has struck an uncompromising stance in recent weeks, vowing to attack the city even if a deal to release hostages is reached.
Relatives of hostages have urged the Israeli government to negotiate a deal, and demanded an explanation in a letter to Israeli Cabinet ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot on Monday.
"We family members are watching in horror what is happening," they wrote. "Netanyahu is deliberately destroying the deal and leaving the hostages to die."
"Now it's time for the Israeli government to prove, with action, its commitment to its citizens," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said. "The Cabinet must take Hamas' acceptance and turn it into a deal for returning all the hostages."
Mahmoud Merdawi, a senior Hamas member, told dpa on Monday that Israel's preparations to attack Rafah would have a negative impact on the indirect negotiations and "catastrophic consequences" for the local population.
Israeli media reported that Hamas has prepared its fighters in Rafah to resist Israeli troops and supplied them with provisions and weapons. The number of militants guarding the hostages has also reportedly increased.
The Hamas-controlled health authority in Gaza announced on Monday that at least 28 Palestinians had been killed in various Israeli attacks in Rafah since Sunday evening. There were also reports of heavy attacks in the east of the city of Rafah on Monday.
According to the health authority, 34,735 Palestinians have been killed and more than 78,000 others injured since the war began seven months ago.
The figures, which do not distinguish between civilians and fighters, cannot be independently verified.
