Hamas leaves Cairo for consultations, Israel steps up offensive in Rafah
Hamas negotiating delegation left Cairo today to consult the movement's leadership on Israel's latest proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages, while the Israeli government admitted that an offensive on Rafah is imminent.
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The delegation left the Egyptian capital for Qatar after two days of negotiations that ended without an agreement due to Hamas's demand that the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip end in exchange for the release of hostages held by the Palestinian Islamist movement, a Hamas source told Al Jazeera.
Israel, however, stressed that it will not give up on its plan to take the Rafah region, a city in the southern Gaza Strip that Israel considers Hamas's last stronghold, and where more than 1.2 million Palestinians displaced by the conflict that has lasted since October of last year have taken refuge, since the Islamist movement attacked Israeli territory, causing around 1,200 victims and motivating an Israeli retaliation in Gaza.
The mediating countries -- Qatar, Egypt and the United States -- will continue contacts with both sides, despite the departure of the Hamas delegation, according to sources cited by Al Jazeera.
According to the Egyptian Al-Qahera News, which cites a source close to the negotiations, a Hamas delegation will return to Cairo on Tuesday to resume the process.
The political leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, Ismail Haniye, assured that he continues to be interested in reaching a "comprehensive and interconnected agreement" that ends the war with Israel, but maintained the demand that any pact also guarantee an immediate ceasefire with the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Haniye, who accused the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of "perpetually inventing excuses", such as acts of "sabotage", to prolong the conflict, stated that Hamas is showing "flexibility" to facilitate the negotiations.
Netanyahu, in turn, warned today that he will not accept an agreement for the release of the hostages from Gaza that implies the end of the war or leaving Hamas "intact".
Netanyahu highlighted the "willingness demonstrated by Israel" to reach an agreement and recalled that the United States considers the latest proposal to be "generous".
"Israel is willing and continues to be willing to accept a truce in the fighting to free the hostages. That is what we did when we released the 124 hostages (in November) and then returned to battle. We are also willing to do it today", he said.
The Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, stated today that Israel has "indications" that Hamas does not want to close an agreement for the release of the hostages and, therefore, the Israeli military offensive on Rafah could begin "in the near future".
"We have clear objectives for this war: the elimination of Hamas and the release of the hostages", stated Gallant, cited by the newspaper 'The Times of Israel'.
The Israeli official said that "alarming signs that Hamas, in fact, has no intention of signing any type of framework agreement" were detected.
"This means that the operation in Rafah and in the Gaza Strip as a whole will occur in the very near future", he said.
Gallant participated in a meeting with the military on Sunday in the Netzarim corridor, in the centre of the Gaza Strip and which divides the Palestinian enclave in two.
Read Also: Hamas leader accuses Israel of sabotaging peace negotiations (Portuguese version)
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