“Israel” carried out intense air strikes on Rafah late Monday that continued for 30 minutes after reiterating a call for people to evacuate the east of the city in southern Gaza, according to an AFP correspondent.

 

Earlier today, Hamas has communicated its acceptance of the ceasefire proposal to Qatari and Egyptian mediators – in a statement released just now.

 

The statement said that the head of Hamas’ Politburo Chief “Ismail Haniyeh called Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and the Egyptian Minister of Intelligence, Mr. Abbas Kamel, informing them of Hamas's acceptance of their proposal for a ceasefire agreement.”

 

“Israeli” officials, cited by Hebrew media, said that the terms Hamas accepted are those that “Israel” agreed to in the round of negotiations.

 

According to those officials, the ceasefire proposal given to Hamas is made unilaterally by Egypt and is not being taken seriously in Tel Aviv before the details are clarified.

 

The proposal Hamas has accepted is a “softened” version of an Egyptian proposal, which includes “far-reaching” conclusions that “Israel” cannot accept - said one official to Reuters.