Israel-Hamas war: Israeli team in Cairo to assess truce deal

05/07/2024May 7, 2024

Israeli team arrives in Cairo for Gaza talks, Netanyahu says

A team of Israeli negotiators has arrived in Cairo for talks on a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday evening.

He said he had instructed the Israeli delegation to "stand firm on the conditions necessary for the release" of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since Hamas's October 7 attack, and on "essential requirements for guaranteeing Israel's security."

The team's goal is to assess whether the Islamist Palestinian group Hamas can be persuaded to change its latest cease-fire offer, a senior Israeli official told Reuters earlier.

"This delegation is made up of mid-level envoys. Were there a credible deal in the offing, the principals would be heading the delegation," the official said.

Hamas said on Monday it had accepted a truce plan proposed by mediators Egypt and Qatar.

The team's arrival in the Egyptian capital came hours after Israeli tanks took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza.

05/07/2024May 7, 2024

UN chief Guterres urges reopening of crossings

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for crossings into Gaza to be reopened immediately to allow in essential aid, urging Israel to "stop any escalation" after it sent tanks into Rafah.

The Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza from Israel has been closed since Sunday following Hamas rocket attacks that killed four Israeli soldiers. Meanwhile, the UN said Israeli authorities have denied it access to the Rafah crossing which has also been closed.

"Things are moving in the wrong direction. I am disturbed and distressed by the renewed military activity in Rafah by the Israel Defense Forces," Guterres said.

"The closure of both the Rafah and Karem Shalom crossings is especially damaging to an already dire humanitarian situation. They must be re-opened immediately."

"I urge the Government of Israel to stop any escalation, and engage constructively in the ongoing diplomatic talks," Guterres said.

"Make no mistake — a full-scale assault on Rafah will be a human catastrophe."

05/07/2024May 7, 2024

Germany warns against keeping crossings closed

Germany has warned against a "major offensive" in Rafah after Israel sent tanks into the southern Gazan city. 

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also called for crossings into the territory to be reopened.

"I warn against a major offensive on Rafah," Baerbock said on X, formerly Twitter. 

"A million people cannot simply vanish into thin air. They need protection. They need more humanitarian aid urgently... the Rafah and Kerem Shalom border crossings must immediately be reopened."

05/07/2024May 7, 2024

UN humanitarian spokesman describes 'one of darkest mornings'

Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the confusion over a cease-fire in Gaza has made the situation for civilians there as desperate as ever.

Hamas said on Monday that it had accepted a truce deal proposal put forward by Egypt and Qatar, but Israel has not committed to the deal and said it would continue its operations in Rafah for the time being.

Laerke said people's hopes had been dashed, plunging them into despair. 

"This morning is one of the darkest in this seven-month-long nightmare," said Laerke. "That's because of yesterday, not least, we all saw the images of families in Gaza celebrating, kids dancing in the streets, when they first believed that, at long last, a ceasefire had been agreed to, and it was coming."

"And then, a few hours later, that was turned on its head, when they learned that, no, there's a false hope, no cease-fire, more war. One can only imagine the soul-crushing disappointment of that."

Laerke said Israel had denied OCHA access to both Rafah and Kerem Shalom, the other main Gaza aid crossing, on the border with Israel, and that there was only "one day of fuel available" inside the besieged territory.

Unless fuel was allowed in, "it would be a very effective way of putting the humanitarian operation in its grave", he warned.

05/07/2024May 7, 2024

Berlin police break up pro-Palestinian university demo

Around 100 students joined the protest camp, mirroring movements across the US and several other countriesImage: Cuneyt Karadag/Anadolu/picture alliance

Police were called in to clear a crowd of around 100 people who had occupied an area in front of one of the lecture theaters at Berlin's Freie Universität (FUB) on Tuesday.

They had placed tents and other equipment in the courtyard approaching the building. 

The FUB said in a statement that it had asked police to break up the demonstration with university president Günther Ziegler saying "This form of protest is not focused on dialogue. An occupation of FU Berlin grounds is not acceptable. We are available for an academic dialogue, but not in this manner." 

According to FUB, the protesting students had also tried to gain entry to lecture halls and other classes. 

The university has complained of material damage from earlier protests and has said it plans to press charges in some cases. 

Berlin's state senator for education, Ina Czyborra, on Tuesday, told German news agency DPA — just before news of renewed disruption — that while it was "fundamentally legitimate" to protest against the war, "not in the form of protests we saw three days ago." 

The protests follow increased international attention on the widespread demos at higher education facilities in the US that have intensified in recent weeks.

05/07/2024May 7, 2024

European ministers voice concern over Rafah, 1 moots sanctions

Development ministers from European Union member states were gathered in Brussels on Tuesday for talks as news of Israel's limited operations in Rafah began to come to light. 

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who was chairing the meeting, said there was "no safe zone in Gaza" for civilians to flee to. He said that the EU and the US had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to go ahead with an assault. 

"In spite of these warnings and this request, an attack was started yesterday night," Borrell said. "I am afraid that this is going to cause again a lot of casualties, civilian casualties." 

Belgium's Development Minister Caroline Gennez said a larger-scale Israeli assault on Rafah would cross a "red line" and said that if it followed, "sanctions ... have to be on the table" in response. 

"It is very clear that international law is no longer respected in Gaza," she said. 

She called on fellow EU members to agree on a decision to "stop exporting weapons to the Middle East, to Israel and the warfaring countries." 

Jochen Flasbarth, a state secretary from Germany's Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, said "the situation is dramatic and continues to worsen" in Gaza and called the humanitarian situation in the territory "appalling."

05/07/2024May 7, 2024

Egypt condemns 'dangerous escalation' in Rafah

Egypt's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday issued a statement criticizing the Israeli military operations on the Palestinian side of its border crossing with Gaza. 

The ministry said the operations constituted a "dangerous escalation threatening the lives of more than a million Palestinians who depend mainly on this crossing as it is the main lifeline of the Gaza Strip."

Cairo warned that the operations could endanger ongoing negotiations, which Egypt is helping to broker, seeking a cease-fire and hostage-release deal.

"The Arab Republic of Egypt calls on the Israeli side to exercise the utmost levels of restraint and to avoid a policy of brinkmanship that has a long-term impact and that would threaten the fate of the strenuous efforts made to reach a sustainable truce inside the Gaza Strip," the Foreign Ministry said. 

It said it would call on international partners to try to intervene and exert what diplomatic influence or pressure they could.

05/07/2024May 7, 2024

UN agency says currently has no access to Rafah crossing

A spokesman for the UN's humanitarian OCHA agency told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that the group did not have access to the closed Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

"We currently do not have any physical presence at the Rafah crossing as our access ... has been denied by COGAT," Jens Laerke said, using the acronym for the Israeli government agency that oversees supplies into the Palestinian territories. 

Israel has said that another border crossing at Kerem Shalom was also closed but that it would reopen once the security situation allows. It described the operation in Rafah as having a "very limited scope."  

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, had on Monday warned that Israel's "evacuation orders for East Rafah will only exacerbate civilians' suffering."

It also noted on Monday the importance of the Rafah crossing for its own operations. 

"Until now, all fuel entering Gaza comes through the Rafah crossing. Any disruption of this fuel supply would halt our humanitarian work," it said.

Rafah is a key point of entry for UN and other international aidImage: Mohammed Salem/REUTERS

05/07/2024May 7, 2024

Making cease-fire 'permanent' the likely sticking point: analyst

Daniel Gerlach, editor-in-chief of the German Zenith quarterly magazine focusing on the Middle East, told DW on Tuesday that he believed the most likely sticking point in negotiations would be efforts to "disguise" or otherwise portray what would, in essence, be a "permanent" cease-fire in Gaza in such a way that Israel's government would accept it. 

He said he found it difficult to believe Monday's mixed messages were the result of a diplomatic blunder and that, instead, he suspected a strategy. 

"It's quite difficult to imagine that the CIA Director Bill Burns — who has spent some time now in the Middle East, in Qatar and in Egypt, and who is responsible for negotiating this deal — made a mistake or unclear communication with the Israelis," he said. 

"So I think everyone knows what it comes down to," Gerlach continued. "It's the question if Israel is able and willing to accept — in exchange for the hostages — a permanent ceasefire, whatever they may call it. And I think that's the target of the negotiators."

Gerlach argued this would be difficult for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept because "then he would not reach his goal to eliminate Hamas and he would not satisfy his coalition partners."

"And he would probably have to step down as Prime Minister of Israel."

Meanwhile, he said that for Hamas, the idea of releasing the hostages without an assurance of a permanent cease-fire was not acceptable. 

"Of course, the Hamas leadership knows that for them, the hostages are the only way they can still they can protect literally their lives, and that's the only leverage they have. So they would, of course, not agree to that," he said. 

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)