Israel-Hamas war: IDF presence reported at Rafah crossing

05/07/2024May 7, 2024

How did Monday's mixed cease-fire messages come about?

An offer for a cease-fire in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages had been on the table, awaiting a response from Hamas, for well over a week now amid slow talks in Cairo and elsewhere. 

Germany, the US and others had repeatedly urged Hamas to issue a response, saying only their agreement was lacking.

On Monday, however, as Israel warned its action would soon commence in parts of Rafah, Hamas said it had accepted "a proposal" put forward by Egyptian and Qatari mediators. It did not make it clear whether this was "the" proposal already in play for some time. 

At least according to the Israeli government, it was a different proposal and not one it could accept in its current form. 

Israel said it would probably send a delegation to continue cease-fire talks but also that its operations in Rafah would continue. 

Meanwhile, late on Monday in Tel Aviv, thousands of people took part in what have become regular protests demanding the hostages' immediate return and calling on the Israeli government to reconsider its military actions. 

Around 1,000 people gathered near Israel's military headquarters, chanting slogans like "Deal now!" They marched on towards the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, carrying a banner reading: "The blood is on your hands." 

Protesters in Tel Aviv on Monday night demanding that the Israeli government accept proposal for a cease-fireImage: Nir Keidar/Anadolu/picture alliance

05/07/2024May 7, 2024

Macron, Xi call for 'immediate and sustainable' cease-fire

Chinese state media published a joint statement from President Xi Jinping and France President Emmanuel Macron early on Tuesday, as Xi kicks off a European tour with a state visit in France. 

The leaders issued a familiar series of appeals amid the conflict, stressing the urgency of an "immediate and sustainable cease-fire" and calling for the release of all Israeli hostages still held by Hamas. 

Longer term, they also called for the "concrete implementation of the two-state solution."

The two leaders also condemned Israeli settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territories as contrary to international law. 

Macron is taking Xi to the southern Pyrenees mountains on Tuesday, the area where he spent his school holidays with his maternal grandparents as a child. 

With regard to the Middle East more broadly, Xi and Macron also stressed "the importance of upholding freedom of navigation in the Red Sea," where Yemen-based Houthis have been targeting commercial shipping in recent months, saying it's a response to Israel's military operations in Gaza. 

Xi will move on to Serbia and Hungary after France on a trip shortly before European Parliament elections.

05/07/2024May 7, 2024

IDF says 'operational control' established at Rafah

A handout picture from the Israeli army shows the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing on Tuesday morningImage: Israeli Army/AFP

The Israel Defense Forces said in a press briefing early on Tuesday that its forces had taken "operational control" of the Palestinian side of Gaza's border crossing with Egypt. 

The IDF's 401st tank brigade entered the Rafah crossing early on Tuesday, it said. 

It said special forces were scanning the area and had been operating there since the previous night, particularly in an area in eastern Rafah. 

"Right now, we have special forces scanning the crossing ... We have operational control of the area and other crossings, and we have special forces scanning the area," the military said. 

It added that currently engaged in a "very targeted operation and a very limited scope against very specific targets" in eastern Rafah.

The military also said that the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into Gaza was temporarily closed as well early on Tuesday, citing security reasons. It said it would reopen when the security situation allowed. 

The IDF published video footage, with film taken from on board a single tank showing that tank approaching the crossing. No people or other military vehicles were visible in the shot.

Late on Monday, Israel's military had already said it was carrying out "targeted strikes" in Rafah, reporting the deaths of 20 Hamas militants and the discovery of three tunnels during the operation.

The military said Tuesday that a "vast amount" of people in areas given evacuation notices yesterday "moved to a safer zone."

05/07/2024May 7, 2024

Rafah — main aid entry point into Gaza, refuge for many

Rafah is a city in southern Gaza that borders Egypt.

In the first months of the conflict, with much of the fighting in northern Gaza, it became a haven for people trying to flee. Usually home to more like 200,000 people, more than a million — or around half Gaza's population — are estimated to have fled there since the war began after the Hamas terror attacks on October 7. 

Rafah is also the busiest entry point for humanitarian aid going into Gaza. 

Israel had at one point urged Palestinians trying to avoid fighting to the north in places like Gaza City to head for Rafah. 

But for months now, Israel's government has been warning of an impending military operation there, which has come in tandem with international calls for restraint and a light touch and warnings of dire consequences in the case of a larger operation. 

On Monday, the IDF instead called on people in Rafah to head north towards Khan Younis, saying soldiers would soon be operating in the southern city.

This followed a mortar attack that Israel said hailed from near the border crossing and killed four IDF soldiers.

05/07/2024May 7, 2024

First reports of IDF activity at Rafah crossing

Israeli Army Radio and Palestinian and Egyptian officials both reported a military presence on the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between southern Gaza and Israel early on Tuesday. 

A spokesperson for the Gaza border authority told Reuters that the crossing had been closed amid the presence of Israeli tanks. Reuters also cited humanitarian aid workers as saying deliveries were halted. 

Israel had on Monday asked people to leave the area, thought to be a temporary home to more than a million fleeing the fighting in Gaza after a mortar attack that it said hailed from the town killed four Israeli soldiers. 

Soon after that, Hamas said it had accepted a cease-fire deal after days of delay. But as celebrations started breaking out in Rafah and elsewhere, Israel's government then responded by saying the deal did not meet its "core demands." 

Talks on a possible truce continue on Tuesday. French and Chinese presidents Emmanuel Macron and Xi Jinping, in the south of France for a second day of talks, issued an early statement urging a breakthrough.

The threat of some kind of military operation at Rafah, plus international appeals for restraint from Israel, has been openly in play for months now, albeit without major military activity.

msh/wmr (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)