Hope for a cease-fire faded again Sunday as Hamas left the talks in Cairo. This came just days after the group said it saw the latest proposal – thought to have included a 40-day pause in fighting in exchange for the release of hostages – “in a positive light.” But Hamas’ insistence that a deal for the hostages bring an end to the war was a non-starter for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Our test is to continue and stand together until we reach victory,” Netanyahu said Sunday. Hamas plans to return to Cairo on Tuesday, but Israel, which is preparing for a ground operation in Rafah that’s set to start “soon,” ordered around 100,000 civilians living in parts of Rafah to evacuate on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, fired rockets on the Kerem Shalom crossing from Gaza into Israel on Sunday, killing three IDF soldiers and wounding 11 others. Israel closed the crossing, which will further complicate the flow of humanitarian aid, as the director of the World Food Program declared a “full-blown famine” in northern Gaza – a claim disputed by Israel.
Israel also closed Al Jazeera’s operations on Sunday after Netanyahu reportedly said it was “time to expel the mouthpiece of Hamas.” The Israeli Cabinet ordered a shutdown of the Qatari-owned media company’s local operations “for as long as the war in Gaza continues.” Authorities then raided a hotel room used by the network in Jerusalem, confiscating equipment.
The decision prompted criticism from the Foreign Press Association and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which urged the Israeli government to overturn the ban.
