Hamas has reportedly accepted a ceasefire proposal

The short version

• Hamas has approved a ceasefire proposal presented by Egypt and Qatar.
• The details of the agreement are not known, and Israel’s official position remains unclear.
• An anonymous Israeli source tells Reuters that the proposal is unacceptable to Israel.
• Internal tensions within Netanyahu’s government could affect the deal’s future.
• The proposal that Hamas has accepted is said to have a different wording than what Israel has been presented with.
• The situation is described as unclear and it is difficult to predict the outcome.

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LAST: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces just before 9 p.m. that the war cabinet has decided to continue the planned ground operation in Rafah. Read more here.

In a statement from Hamas reproduced by Reuters, it is said that it has approved a ceasefire proposal put forward by Egypt and Qatar.

The details of the proposed agreement are not yet known. Nor how Israel officially stands on the proposal.

– It is absolutely crucial that both Hamas and Israel do what they can to establish a ceasefire in Gaza. The whole world is watching and expects both parties to show a willingness to meet each other, says Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide about the situation.

Any attempt to establish a ceasefire could be the difference between life and death for far too many people, on both sides of the conflict. Such an agreement is what is the goal in the short term, to put an end to the enormous suffering in Gaza, believes the foreign minister.

– I repeat the demand that the war must end, the hostages must be released and the people of Gaza must get the help they need. At the same time, we must continue to work for a two-state solution, which is the real solution to this.

Reuters cites a source it says is an Israeli government official as saying the proposal is not acceptable to Israel.

– This appears to be a ploy intended to make Israel appear as the side that refuses to accept an agreement, says the anonymous Israeli source to Reuters.

The controversial and extreme Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir calls it all a game on X Monday night.

– There is only one answer to Hamas’s tricks and games – an immediate order to capture Rafah, increase military pressure and continue crushing Hamas until they are completely defeated, he writes at 19.30 Norwegian time.

Kåre Reidar Aas is a Norwegian diplomat and strategic advisor. He has previously been Norway’s ambassador to Israel from 2020 to 2023.

– I think it is too early to conclude anything, before you see more clearly how Israel relates to this. It remains to be seen what Israel will do in the next few hours, says Aas to VG.

He points out that people have been both surprised and disappointed before, and that it is impossible to say whether the ceasefire proposal will go through or not.

– You have been close to an agreement before, without it leading to a final agreement. There is some optimism, but it remains to be seen how this develops in the future.

Aas believes that we will be able to see a tug-of-war within Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government where the ultra-Orthodox and the extreme nationalists will oppose an agreement.

– It also remains to get a clear picture of the details of a possible ceasefire agreement in terms of the release of hostages and captured Palestinians and humanitarian access.

Also read: Israel prepares Rafah operation – has started evacuation

Says the deal is different

According to several Israeli news channels, the proposal that Hamas has accepted must have a different wording than what Israel has been presented with.

It reportedly contains “far-reaching conclusions” that are not acceptable to Israel.

– We evaluate every move from Hamas, we will respond seriously and examine every possibility regarding the negotiations and getting the hostages back, says spokesman for the Israeli military (IDF), Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

– At the same time, the operation continues in the Gaza Strip, he emphasizes

This shall be the agreement:

According to Reuters, these must be parts of the content of the plan that Hamas has agreed to.

Phase 1:

• 42-day ceasefire
• Hamas releases 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons
• Israel implements a partial withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and allows free movement of Palestinians from southern to northern Gaza

Phase 2:

• New period of 42-day ceasefire
• The vast majority of Israeli soldiers are withdrawn from the Gaza Strip
• Hamas releases Israeli reservists and some soldiers held hostage in exchange for Israel releasing more Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails

Phase 3:

• Exchange of dead hostages and Palestinian prisoners
• Implement the reconstruction plans overseen by Qatar, Egypt and the United States
• Ending the complete blockade of the Gaza Strip

(Source: NTB)

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One of the advisors to the political leader of the Hamas movement, Ismail Haniyeh, Taher Al-Nono tells the Reuters news agency that the agreement includes, among other things, a ceasefire, reconstruction, the return of displaced people and a prisoner exchange.

Their delegation will visit Cairo soon to discuss the agreement and the next steps, Al-Nono further states.

Also read: Reuters: Hamas claims Israel is attacking evacuated area in Gaza

Ground invasion

The news comes at the same time that residents in the south of the Gaza Strip have had to prepare for a possible Israeli ground invasion of the city of Rafah.

Over a million Palestinians have sought refuge here as a result of the war that has raged in the Palestinian area since October last year.

Al-Jazeera’s reporter in Rafah talks to people on the ground, who express joy and relief at the news that Hamas has agreed to a ceasefire proposal.

They say they hope the ceasefire means an end to the atrocities they have experienced during the war.

Professor of history at the University of Oslo and senior researcher at Prio, Hilde Henriksen Waage, calls the situation on Monday evening unclear.

– At the same time, we already see queues of Palestinians exiting Rafah. It indicates that Israel really intends to carry out the invasion, contrary to the strong calls from the rest of the world.

Waage believes it is difficult to say where this will lead.

– We can hope for this as a last spasm before the war is over. Then we often see an escalation right before it ends. We can hope that this is the beginning of the end.

Earlier Monday, Israel asked people in the eastern part of Rafah to evacuate. Among the inhabitants, this created fears that a ground invasion could be imminent.

Hamas’ negotiators met brokers from Qatar, Egypt and the United States in Cairo at the weekend.