Hamas says it accepts Gaza ceasefire proposal, but Israel still examining deal
Netanyahu says proposal Hamas accepted was 'far from Israel's essential demands'
Hamas announced on Monday it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari proposal for a ceasefire to halt the war in Gaza, though Israel later played down the likelihood of a pause and approved a military operation in the southern city of Rafah.
In a statement, Hamas said its top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, had delivered the news in a phone call with Qatar's prime minister and Egypt's intelligence minister.
Details of the proposal have not yet been released.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the proposal Hamas accepted was "far from Israel's essential demands" but that it would nonetheless send negotiators to continue talks on a deal. He said the military will push on with its operation in Rafah even as its negotiators examine the proposed ceasefire agreement in order to increase pressure on Hamas.
Also Monday, Israel's military spokesperson said all proposals regarding negotiations to free hostages in Gaza are examined seriously and that in parallel it continues to operate in the Hamas-ruled territory.
Asked during a media briefing whether Hamas's acceptance of a ceasefire proposal would impact a planned offensive in Rafah, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said: "We examine every answer and response in the most seriously manner and are exhausting every possibility regarding negotiations and returning the hostages."
In recent days, Egyptian and Hamas officials have said the ceasefire would take place in a series of stages during which Hamas would release hostages it is holding in exchange for Israeli troop pullbacks from Gaza.
It is not clear whether the deal will meet Hamas's key demand of bringing about an end to the war and complete Israeli withdrawal.
Palestinians celebrate in Rafah
Despite the uncertainty, Palestinians erupted in cheers in the sprawling tent camps around Rafah after Hamas released its statement on Monday, hoping the deal meant an Israeli attack had been averted. Crowds jumped up and down as people chanted, "God is great."
Uprooted families preparing to evacuate the city told CBC News they were relieved to hear that a deal was on the table.
"We were wondering where we would go, we have no shelter or anywhere to go to, but thank God, I was happy to hear this news," said Umm Ahmed Al-Masry. "The feeling is indescribable."
Louise Wateridge, a spokesperson for UNRWA, the United Nations relief agency supporting Palestinians, said the jubilation lasted an hour before the streets went quiet at nightfall.
"It's been a whirlwind of a 24 hours," she said. "We were really looking quite hopeful the last few days [for a potential deal], and it was quite devastating to wake up this morning into something of a nightmare that these evacuation orders were in place for the east of Rafah," said Wateridge, who's based in the western side of the city.
"The reaction we've seen this evening summarizes how much people have been hoping and waiting for this kind of news, and it's really the only hope that they have left."
U.S. reviewing potential deal
The White House said it was reviewing Hamas's response to the proposed deal, but it declined to give any details of what was agreed.
"I'm not going to get into that," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters during a press briefing on Monday. "You're asking me for the parameters around the response and the deal itself, and I'm just not going to do that.
"Without getting into the details of it ... there have been ongoing negotiations and talks here for weeks."
Touring the region last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had pressed Hamas to take the deal. Egyptian officials said it called for a ceasefire of multiple stages, starting with a limited hostage release and some Israeli troop pullbacks from Gaza.
The two sides would also negotiate a "permanent calm" that would lead to a full hostage release and greater Israeli withdrawal, they said.
Hamas had been seeking changes in the language to guarantee its key demand of an end to the war and complete Israeli withdrawal in return for the release of all hostages, according to Egyptian officials.
It was not immediately known if any changes were made.
Hamas's abrupt acceptance of the cease-fire deal came hours after Israel ordered an evacuation of Palestinians from eastern neighborhoods of Rafah, signaling an invasion was imminent.
Israel's closest allies, including the United States, have repeatedly said that Israel shouldn't attack Rafah. The looming operation has raised global alarm over the fate of Palestinians sheltering there.
More than a million people in Rafah are huddled in tents and overcrowded apartments after fleeing Israel's military offensive in other parts of the territory. The war has driven about 80 per cent of Gaza's population of 2.3 million from their homes and caused vast destruction throughout several cities.
Aid agencies have warned that an offensive will worsen Gaza's humanitarian catastrophe and bring a surge of more civilian deaths in an Israeli campaign that has devastated the territory and, according to the local Health Ministry, killed more than 34,700 people and injured 78,108 others as of Monday.
Israel launched its attack on Gaza after Hamas led an attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 that saw 1,200 people killed and more than 250 kidnapped, according to the government's tally.
With files from Reuters and CBC's Yasmine Hassan