Israel-Gaza war live: IDF says Israel ‘exploring’ Hamas ceasefire deal announcement but continuing Rafah ‘operational’ actions

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Israel's military announces strikes in eastern Rafah

Israel’s military announced they are now launching targeted strikes in eastern Rafah, Reuters reported citing a statement.

Israel alleges that they are striking Hamas targets in the region.

But more than 1m displaced Palestinian people have sought refuge in Rafah amid Israel’s attacks in Gaza, the Washington Post reported.

Israel 'still plans to proceed with Rafah invasion plans'

Israel still plans to proceed with a 90-day plan to invade Rafah, which Washington is committed to stopping, according to reports.

The country’s war cabinet has decided to continue its operations in order to secure the release of hostages, the journalist Barack Ravid posted on X.

It comes as a US official familiar with truce negotiations between Hamas and Israel told Reuters on Monday that it would proceed with its invasion plans.

“Netanyahu and the war cabinet have not appeared to approach the latest phase of negotiations (with Hamas) in good faith,” the official told Reuters, asking not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The White House is aware of a report that a US soldier was detained in Russia over the weekend, national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Monday.

More lines on this as we get it.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh reviewed with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani the “required measures” to guarantee implementing the ceasefire proposal, the Palestinian group said in a statement.

Hamas earlier said it had accepted a proposal from Egyptian and Qatari mediators after weeks of stop-start talks on a deal for a temporary pause in fighting and the release of hostages to Israel.

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called in a statement to exert more effort to reach a deal in Gaza, saying he was closely following positive developments of the current negotiations to reach “a comprehensive truce”.

Meanwhile, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he held a phone call with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Monday to discuss efforts to end the fighting in Gaza, as well as the militant group’s decision to accept a ceasefire in the enclave.

“During the call, in which I stated that I found it positive for Hamas to take such a decision with Turkey’s suggestion, we emphasised that Israel must take a step for a lasting ceasefire too,” Erdogan said on X.

White House 'reviewing' response by Hamas to ceasefire and hostage release deal

The White House has said it was reviewing a response by the Islamist Hamas militant group to a ceasefire and hostage release deal, but declined to give any details of what was agreed.

CIA director William Burns was in the region having discussions on the proposal, White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

“We want to get these hostages out, we want to get a ceasefire in place for six weeks, we want to increase humanitarian assistance,” Kirby said, adding that reaching an agreement would be the “absolute best outcome.”

At the state department, spokesperson Matthew Miller, gave an initial response to the Hamas announcement that they had accepted a ceasefire deal, which he said the administration had received shortly after midday.

“I can confirm that Hamas has issued a response. We are reviewing that response now,” Miller said. “As you know, Director Burns, [CIA chief William Burns] is in the region working on this in real time. We will be discussing this response with our partners over the coming hours.

“We continue to believe that a hostage deal is in the best interests of the Israeli people, it’s in the best interest of the Palestinian people, it would bring an immediate ceasefire, it would allow increased movement of humanitarian assistance, and so we’re going to continue to work to try to reach one.”

Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said the Hamas chief told him in a phone call that the ball is now in Israel’s court after the group had agreed to an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal.

Amirabdollahian also said on X that Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh had told him: “We are sincere in our intentions.”

The United States is “quite concerned” about Israel’s shutdown of Al Jazeera’s operations in the country, US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said today, a day after Israeli authorities raided a Jerusalem hotel room used as the TV station’s local office.

Washington thinks Qatari-owned Al Jazeera ought to be able to operate in Israel, Miller added.

The United States will discuss Hamas’s response to a ceasefire proposal with allies in the Middle East in the coming hours, state department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.

An Israeli official said no ceasefire agreement had been reached despite the Palestinian militant group Hamas saying on Monday it had accepted a proposal from Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

Ceasefire deal Hamas has agreed to will take place in three phases

A Hamas official said that the ceasefire deal they agreed to will take place in three phases, Reuters reported.

Khalil Al-Hayya, the deputy chief of Hamas, said that each stage of the agreement is 42 days long.

The first stage of the agreement will feature an Israeli-Palestinian prisoner swap, which includes Israeli civilians.

The second phase mandates that Israel completely withdraw from Gaza.

Miller said that a ceasefire is still “absolutely achievable”, amid mixed receptions from Israel following Hamas’s latest announcement that they accepted a ceasefire deal.

“A ceasefire is absolutely achievable,” Miller said, adding that the US supports a separate deal that would achieve an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas.

Miller again declined to comment on what he called Hamas’s “response” to a ceasefire agreement as it is still being reviewed.

US spokesman says Israel should hold off a military offensive in Rafah

Miller said that Israel should hold off a military offensive in Rafah as it would “dramatically” increase the suffering of people in Palestine.

“We cannot support an operation in Rafah as it is currently envisioned,” Miller said, adding that the US’s position on this has not changed.

“We believe a military operation in Rafah right now would dramatically increase the suffering of the Palestinian people…would dramatically disrupt the delivery of humanitarian assistance,” he added.

Miller declined to comment on reports that Hamas may have agreed to a ceasefire deal that the US was not involved with.

“I’ve seen those suggestions … Because we are working on this in real time and trying to reach an agreement, I’m just going to decline to comment [in] detail about any of those reports,” Miller said.