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Israeli army confirms takeover of Rafah crossing with Egypt

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Tuesday the capture of the Rafah crossing with Egypt. According to the 401st Armored Brigade, the crossing is now disconnected from the Salah a-Din road in Western Rafah, which the Givati Brigade also captured during overnight operations. The announcement comes after reports that the army was conducting operations in the area. In this regard, the army announced the killing of 20 gunmen and the discovery of three “significant” tunnel shafts. As part of the same operations, the Air Force attacked more than 50 Hamas sites in Rafah during the night. As of now, there have been no reports of any casualties on the Israeli side during the operation.

Israeli ground forces allegedly enter eastern Rafah

Israeli tanks and other ground forces supposedly entered the eastern outskirts of Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, Axios reported, citing Israeli officials. The officials told the news agency that the move marks the first phase of Israel’s military operation in Rafah and that the tanks started moving from Israel toward Rafah approximately at the same time Hamas announced it had accepted the ceasefire deal brokered by Egyptian and Qatari mediators. A senior Israeli official told the news agency that there are noticeable gaps between the deal that was originally discussed and the Hamas response, stressing that a delegation will be sent to Cairo in an attempt to bridge these gaps nonetheless. NN: Audio File:

game on rafia invasion has begun
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Hamas reportedly accepts Egypt, Qatar’s ceasefire proposal…… Israel allegedly cautious about Hamas’s ceasefire move

Hamas informed Egypt and Qatar it accepted the proposal for a new ceasefire deal with Israel those two parties created, Al Jazeera reported on Monday, citing what it described as a leading source from the organization. The group’s leader Ismail Haniyeh was said to have phoned Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Egyptian General Intelligence Service (GIS) Director Abbas Kamel to pass on the decision. The report came after the allegations Hamas froze the negotiations, with the organization and Israel blaming each other for the lack of a deal.

Israel allegedly cautious about Hamas’s ceasefire move

Israel does not take Hamas’s apparent agreement to a ceasefire proposal tabled by Egypt and Qatar as it seems to be a different offer than the one the Middle Eastern country said yes to, Kan, Channel 12 and 13 reported on Monday, citing a source familiar with the matter. The source said Israel for the time being considers the organization’s response unilateral and that it will review that decision. They added the document Hamas agreed to seems to include “far-stretched solutions” Israel disapproves of. The news came following the report Hamas agreed to a ceasefire suggestion created by Egypt and Qatar.

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Hamas reportedly suspends ceasefire talks

Hamas has decided to freeze the latest round of negotiations over a ceasefire with Israel and, henceforth, postpone its delegation’s trip to Cairo, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed or The New Arab reported on Monday. Citing a source from the organization, the outlet added that Egypt advised Hamas to return to the talks and not to escalate the tensions. The report came amid the allegations Israel and Hamas were close to reaching a new ceasefire deal.

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Civilians evacuate Rafah ahead of ground invasion | ABC News

if isreal is forced to stand alone israel will stand alone

JERUSALEM — This morning, Israelis stopped for two minutes of silence to remember the six million Jews butchered by the Nazis and their allies during World War II. The moment of contemplation came a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected international pressure to halt the war in Gaza in a fiery speech. “If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone,” he said yesterday, amid calls for restraint from a growing chorus of world leaders who have criticized the heavy toll caused by Israel’s military offensive against Hamas in Gaza. His message was delivered in a setting that typically avoids politics on one of the most solemn dates on the country’s calendar.

“I say to the leaders of the world: No amount of pressure, no decision by any international forum will stop Israel from defending itself,” he said, speaking in English. “Never again is now.”

Israel’s order for Palestinians to evacuate eastern Rafah is a “dangerous escalation that will have consequences,” a senior Hamas official warned this morning. The official, Sami Abu Zuhri, told the Reuters news agency that the U.S. also “bears responsibility for this terrorism,” in an apparent reference to Washington’s support for Israel. Meanwhile, Israel accused the militant group of having “sabotaged” a possible cease-fire deal. In a statement released this morning, the Israeli prime minister’s office appeared to strike out at comments from top Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh yesterday accusing Israel of torpedoing efforts to reach a deal. “The claim that Prime Minister Netanyahu and not Hamas is the one who sabotaged the hostage release deal is a complete lie and a deliberate deception of the public,” the statement said. “The truth is completely the opposite. Hamas is the one that sabotages every deal by not moving a millimeter from its extreme demands that no government in Israel can accept.”Video captured by NBC News’ crew on the ground in Gaza this morning showed families leaving eastern Rafah, with their few possessions in tow.Cars and trucks could be seen driving away from the area, their roofs loaded with stacked mattresses, rolled-up blankets and other necessities.

Some could be seen walking, carrying backpacks and hauling large plastic bags on their backs. Other families were just beginning to pack, filling the trunks of their cars with suitcases and boxes. The city has been crowded with people for months, many of them displaced from elsewhere in Gaza after fleeing the Israeli military’s assault further north in the Palestinian enclave.
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Gallant: Israel had no choice but to start Rafah op

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in a phone call overnight that “there was no choice left and this meant the start of the Israeli operation in Rafah,” The Times of Israel reported on Monday. Gallant informed Austin of “the many efforts that the State of Israel is making to reach a [agreement] for the release of hostages and a temporary ceasefire, and said that at this stage Hamas refuses any proposal that would allow this.” The move was made following the failure of Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire agreement on Sunday and the raid and closing of Al-Jazeera’s Jerusalem station.

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Israel Starts Moving People Out of Rafah Before Possible Attack

Israel’s military has begun moving civilians out of Rafah, a possible prelude to a long-expected attack on the city in Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces “will act with extreme force against terrorist organizations in your areas of residence,” a spokesman said on X on Monday morning. He urged residents of eastern Rafah to go north to an “expanded humanitarian area” near Khan Younis, another city in Gaza.

The move comes after cease-fire talks between Hamas and Israel in Cbbairo seemed to stall. Hamas also killed three Israeli soldiers with a rocket barrage on Sunday on the border crossing of Kerem Shalom. Kan News, Israel’s main broadcaster, said the IDF was preparing a ground operation in Rafa.

 Israel forces is asking civilians in several Rafah areas to move out of the city, the military’s Arabic spokesman says on X. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for months said that civilians in Rafah would be moved out before any attack. There are roughly 1.4 million in the city, most of whom fled there after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October. It’s unclear how long it would take for the bulk of the civilians to leave. Israeli officials privately admit it could take weeks, while the US has expressed doubts that it can be done safely.  Most Arab and many European states have said Israel should not attack Rafah, fearing it would cause a mass of casualties. Many civilians may choose to remain in Rafah if they’re unsure of the conditions where they’re going — Khan Younis, several miles from Rafah, has largely been destroyed since the war began on Oct. 7. Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the US and European Union, may also prevent some of them from leaving.

Israel says Rafah is the last bastion of Hamas, with about 5,000 to 8,000 of its fighters and senior leaders lodged in the city, as well as many Israeli hostages.

The war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel from Gaza, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage. Israel’s bombardment and ground attack on the Palestinian territory has killed almost 35,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Israel publishes evacuation map for Gazans

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) unveiled an evacuation map on Monday for Rafah residents. Disseminated through flyers, text messages, and phone calls, the map provided instructions to evacuate specific neighborhoods in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah and not the entire city in southern Gaza.

The messages added that “in accordance with the approval of the government, an ongoing situation assessment will guide the gradual movement of civilians in the specified areas in eastern Rafah to the humanitarian area.”

As per the military’s statement, the expanded humanitarian zone encompassing the al-Mawasi and Khan Younis areas includes provisions such as field hospitals and tent camps for displaced Palestinians. Despite the closure of the Kerem Shalom Crossing, the military affirms its commitment to sustaining the distribution of humanitarian aid at its current level.

NN: Audio File

PAYBACK time and it could be a mother
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Israel rejects ceasefire demands and shuts down Al Jazeera’s operations in the country

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected ceasefire proposals because he says Hamas’s call for a withdrawal of all troops from Gaza and an end to the war is unacceptable.

Mr Netanyahu said agreeing such proposals would “leave Hamas intact” and leave the possibility of another attack in future.”Surrendering to the demands of Hamas would be a terrible defeat for the State of Israel,” he said in a video statement.

Mediated negotiations for a pause in the fighting in return for the release of hostages held by Hamas have been going on in Egypt, but a deal appears some way off. Mr Netanyahu said Hamas was “entrenched in its extreme positions, first among them the demand to remove all our forces from the Gaza Strip, end the war, and leave Hamas in power”. He said it would allow more “massacres, rapes and kidnapping”. Hamas said in a statement it was “still keen to reach a comprehensive, interconnected agreement that ends the aggression, guarantees withdrawal, and achieves a serious prisoner exchange deal”. The group’s Ismail Haniyeh, blamed Mr Netanyahu of “sabotaging the efforts made through the mediators”. The proposal put to Hamas had set out a three-stage process for an immediate, six-week ceasefire and partial release of Israeli hostages, with some sort of Israeli pull-out in exchange. There was a brief ceasefire and prisoner and hostage swap last year, but it did not turn into a longer-term truce. Intense pressure is on Israel’s government domestically to achieve a deal and get more hostages released, with families holding regular vigils and campaigning. Mr Netanyahu also said on Sunday his cabinet had voted to close the local office of Qatar’s state-owned news broadcaster Al Jazeera. Israel claims the channel has collaborated with Hamas.”Al Jazeera reporters harmed Israel’s security and incited against soldiers,” Mr Netanyahu said. “It’s time to remove the Hamas mouthpiece from our country.”The channel called the claims a “dangerous and ridiculous lie” that threatens its reporters’ safety and said it would pursue “every legal step”. “The background of this (shutdown) decision is not professional or journalistic… it’s political,” said Waleed Omari, bureau chief of Al Jazeera in Israel and the Palestinian territories. It comes after a law was passed last month allowing Israel to act against foreign channels that “harm” the country. It’s understood it allows for an initial 45-day closure which could then be renewed…… NN: What a bullshit  deal. They need to go into Rafah and kill the tunnel  rats and then apologize. And send lots of aid trucks.

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US allegedly puts hold on ammo shipment to Israel

An ammunition shipment meant for Israel was halted by the United States last week, Axios reported on Sunday citing Israeli officials.

According to the officials, the move awoke worries inside the Israeli government, as the authorities scrambled to find the reasons for this. The White House declined to give any statements with regard to the subject.

Axios mentioned that this was the first time Washington did this since the tensions between Israel and Hamas escalated on October 7, 2023. Previous reports claimed that the United States could potentially limit its assistance to Israel, should the latter carry out a Rafah Invasion. Meanwhile, earlier today, in a speech Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that if the country needs to “stand alone, we will stand alone.”

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Netanyahu Says Israel Won’t Give in to Hamas Demand to End War

Israel is prepared to temporarily halt the war in Gaza to gain the release of the hostages held there, but won’t agree to the Hamas demand to end the war completely, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. It’s unclear where the comments – and an exchange of barbs with the Hamas political leader – will leave the potential for a halt in the war, which is approaching the seven-month mark. Israel’s military continues to prepare for a potential assault on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.Israel and Hamas have been negotiating for weeks through mediators toward a potential truce that would include the release of hostages held in Gaza and of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. “We are not ready to accept a situation in which the Hamas battalions come out of their bunkers, take control of Gaza again, rebuild their military infrastructure, and return to threatening the citizens of Israel in the surrounding settlements, in the cities of the south, in all parts of the country,” Netanyahu said in a statement on Sunday. Hamas, not Israel, is preventing a deal, he added.

Giving in to Hamas’ demands would be a “terrible defeat” for Israel, a huge victory for Hamas and Iran, and would project a “terrible weakness” to Israel’s friends and enemies alike, Netanyahu said, according to a statement released by his office.

This weakness would distance any further peace agreement, Netanyahu said, in an apparent reference to potential normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia.“This weakness will only bring the next war closer, and it will push the next peace agreement further away,” Netanyahu said. “Alliances are not made with the weak and defeated, alliances are made with the strong and victorious.” Hamas poitical chief Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement that the group, which is considered a terrorist organization by the US and European Union, is bringing “seriousness and positivity” to the current talks. Netanyahu, he said, wanted to “invent constant justifications for the continuation of aggression, expanding the circle of conflict, and sabotaging efforts made through various mediators and parties.” Hamas conducted a series of contacts with mediators and with resistance factions, and held intensive meetings and consultations before sending its delegation to Cairo, he said. Hamas is still keen to reach a comprehensive agreement that guarantees the withdrawal of Israeli forces and achieves a serious prisoners/hostage exchange deal, Haniyeh added. Hezbollah is thought to have more than 100,000 fighters, many of whom are situated close to the border with Israel. The group has a far larger and more sophisticated arsenal of missiles and other weapons than Hamas. Both militant groups are considered terrorist organizations by the US.

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Netanyahu: Hamas obstructing ceasefire deal…………. Islamic Resistance claims attack on Haifa port

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Sunday that he shouldn’t be blamed for the lack of a ceasefire deal. “It’s Hamas that’s preventing” the agreement. “We are working in every possible way to free the abductees. This is at the forefront of our minds. Israel was and still is ready to make a truce in the fighting to free our abductees,” Netanyahu stressed in a video posted on his social media channels. He underlined, however, that Israel will not be succumbing to Hamas’ demands, adding that the country will “continue the fighting until all its goals are achieved.” Netanyahu claimed that although Israel is still open to reaching an agreement, Hamas is the one that remains “entrenched in its positions.”Iran again calls for ‘immediate’ ceasefire in Gaza Iranian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Nasser Kanaani shared on Sunday in a post on X that Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian called for “an immediate, complete, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in all areas of Gaza,” while delivering a speech at the summit of the Islamic Cooperation Organization in Gambia. The foreign minister underlined that “the human blockade of Gaza” must be lifted chttps://youtu.be/mLLxYZPRae8ompletely, while further hostage exchanges need to take place. He also called for an immediate arms and trade embargo against Israel.Amir-Abdollahian stressed that the Israeli military must withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip, adding that the country must “be stopped, brought to justice and punished.”

Islamic Resistance claims attack on Haifa port

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq said on Sunday in a statement that it once again targeted Israel’s biggest international seaport, Haifa.”Our fighters have directed advanced cruise missiles at Haifa port in the occupied Palestinian territories,” the militant group wrote, underlining that it will continue to support the Palestinian people. The potential damage is still unknown, as the Israeli side has yet to address the strike.