Hamas agrees to ceasefire proposal
UN says Rafah evacuation order 'inhumane'
Published: 06:05 PM,May 06,2024 | EDITED : 10:05 PM,May 06,2024
A displaced Palestinian leaves with their belongings from Rafah following an evacuation order by the Israeli army on Monday. — AFP
RAFAH: Hamas on Monday agreed to a ceasefire proposal in the seven-month-old war with Israel in Gaza, hours after the Israeli military told residents to evacuate some parts of Rafah, which has been sheltering more than a million displaced people.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh informed Qatari and Egyptian mediators that the group accepted their ceasefire proposal, according to a brief statement from Hamas, which gave no details of the accord.
An Israeli official said a truce Hamas said it agreed to was a 'softened' version of an Egyptian proposal that included 'far-reaching' conclusions that Israel could not accept.
'This would appear to be a ruse intended to make Israel look like the side refusing a deal,' said the Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The agreement, should it take effect, would be the first truce since a week-long pause in the fighting in November, and follows months of failed attempts at pausing the fighting to free captives and allow more aid into Gaza.
There had been concerns that the ceasefire talks being held in Cairo had stalled after Hamas official Izzat al Rashiq warned that any Israeli operation in Rafah would put the truce talks in jeopardy.
The city, on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip, has been the last sanctuary for around half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents, pushed south by Israel's seven-month-old assault.
UNBEARABLE
Israel's order for Palestinians to evacuate from eastern Rafah in Gaza is 'inhumane', the UN rights chief said on Monday, warning that suffering and destruction would soar beyond already 'unbearable' levels.
Volker Turk said forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee to areas with almost no access to aid for survival was 'inconceivable'.
'Gazans continue to be hit with bombs, disease, and even famine,' the United Nations' high commissioner for human rights said in a statement.
'And today, they have been told that they must relocate yet again as Israeli military operations into Rafah scale up.
'This is inhumane. It runs contrary to the basic principles of international humanitarian and human rights laws, which have the effective protection of civilians as their overriding concern.'
Israel's military on Monday called for the evacuation of Palestinians from eastern Rafah, ahead of a long-threatened ground invasion of the southern Gaza city, the prospect of which has triggered widespread global alarm.
'Forcibly relocating hundreds of thousands from Rafah to areas which have already been flattened and where there is little shelter and virtually no access to humanitarian assistance necessary for their survival is inconceivable. It will only expose them to more danger and misery,' said Turk.
'More attacks on what is now the primary humanitarian hub in the Gaza strip are not the answer,' said Turk, adding: 'Enough of the killing.'
'There must be a ceasefire. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow freely and at scale. And the captives and those arbitrarily detained must be released at once.'
Turk said two crossings into Rafah had been shut on Monday, halting the inflow of 'meagre' levels of humanitarian aid. He said there was no location outside of Rafah able to cope with the mass displacement of more than a million people.
'The experience of the past seven months shows Palestinians who remain in Rafah will continue to be at risk of death and injury, whether by indiscriminate bombing, unlawful killing, or loss of access to food, water and healthcare. This must not be allowed to happen,' said Turk.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh informed Qatari and Egyptian mediators that the group accepted their ceasefire proposal, according to a brief statement from Hamas, which gave no details of the accord.
An Israeli official said a truce Hamas said it agreed to was a 'softened' version of an Egyptian proposal that included 'far-reaching' conclusions that Israel could not accept.
'This would appear to be a ruse intended to make Israel look like the side refusing a deal,' said the Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The agreement, should it take effect, would be the first truce since a week-long pause in the fighting in November, and follows months of failed attempts at pausing the fighting to free captives and allow more aid into Gaza.
There had been concerns that the ceasefire talks being held in Cairo had stalled after Hamas official Izzat al Rashiq warned that any Israeli operation in Rafah would put the truce talks in jeopardy.
The city, on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip, has been the last sanctuary for around half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents, pushed south by Israel's seven-month-old assault.
UNBEARABLE
Israel's order for Palestinians to evacuate from eastern Rafah in Gaza is 'inhumane', the UN rights chief said on Monday, warning that suffering and destruction would soar beyond already 'unbearable' levels.
Volker Turk said forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee to areas with almost no access to aid for survival was 'inconceivable'.
'Gazans continue to be hit with bombs, disease, and even famine,' the United Nations' high commissioner for human rights said in a statement.
'And today, they have been told that they must relocate yet again as Israeli military operations into Rafah scale up.
'This is inhumane. It runs contrary to the basic principles of international humanitarian and human rights laws, which have the effective protection of civilians as their overriding concern.'
Israel's military on Monday called for the evacuation of Palestinians from eastern Rafah, ahead of a long-threatened ground invasion of the southern Gaza city, the prospect of which has triggered widespread global alarm.
'Forcibly relocating hundreds of thousands from Rafah to areas which have already been flattened and where there is little shelter and virtually no access to humanitarian assistance necessary for their survival is inconceivable. It will only expose them to more danger and misery,' said Turk.
'More attacks on what is now the primary humanitarian hub in the Gaza strip are not the answer,' said Turk, adding: 'Enough of the killing.'
'There must be a ceasefire. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow freely and at scale. And the captives and those arbitrarily detained must be released at once.'
Turk said two crossings into Rafah had been shut on Monday, halting the inflow of 'meagre' levels of humanitarian aid. He said there was no location outside of Rafah able to cope with the mass displacement of more than a million people.
'The experience of the past seven months shows Palestinians who remain in Rafah will continue to be at risk of death and injury, whether by indiscriminate bombing, unlawful killing, or loss of access to food, water and healthcare. This must not be allowed to happen,' said Turk.