Agree to Gaza truce in a week or face Rafah op: Israel warns Hamas
Agree to Gaza truce in a week or face Rafah op: Israel warns Hamas
As Israel prepares to go ahead with its Rafah operation, the Jewish nation has given Hamas a week to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza or else it will proceed with the military operation, Egyptian officials told The Wall Street Journal on Friday. Egypt along with Qatar and the US are leading efforts to mediate between Israel and Hamas, and reach a deal for a Gaza truce, in an attempt to bring to an end the war ongoing since October 7.
Hamas said it was sending a delegation to Egypt’s capital Cairo to discuss a ceasefire deal and the release of hostages held in Gaza, hours after director of the US’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns arrived in the city, news agency Reuters reported, citing Egyptian sources.
Israel has consistently warned of a Rafah operation, where a million displaced people are gathered, having fled Israeli bombardments in the Jewish nation’s counterattack to Hamas’s October 7 attack.