New Gaza ceasefire negotiations are anticipated in Cairo after Israel murders at least 20 Palestinians in Rafah

CAIRO: At least 20 Palestinians were killed and numerous others were injured by Israeli bombings on three houses in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, according to medical reports on Monday. This occurred just before Egyptian and Qatari mediators were scheduled to meet with Hamas leaders in Cairo to discuss a renewed cease-fire.

According to health officials, Israeli airplanes bombed two residences in Gaza City, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, killing at least four people and injuring numerous more.

The strikes occurred only hours before officials of the Islamist organization Hamas were scheduled to visit Egypt to explore the possibility of a deal for a truce with Israel. Rafah is home to over a million refugees who have fled months of Israeli shelling.

The Israeli army declared it was looking into the information.

According to Gaza’s health officials, Israel has pledged to destroy Hamas, which rules Gaza, in a military assault that has killed over 34,000 Palestinians, 66 of them in the last 24 hours. The majority of the 2.3 million people have been forced to flee, and the majority of the enclave has been destroyed.

According to Israeli counts, the fighting began on October 7 when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and capturing 253 others.

For weeks, there has been talk of an impending attack on Rafah, which Israel claims to be the final Hamas stronghold in the Gaza Strip. However, given the volume of displaced people living in the region, foreign governments and the UN have voiced concern that such action could result in a humanitarian disaster.

Hamas authorities announced on Sunday that a team headed by deputy Gaza chief Khalil Al-Hayya would talk about Israel’s response to a ceasefire plan that Hamas presented to mediators from Qatar and Egypt. Supported by the US, mediators are working harder to reach an agreement.

A source knowledgeable on the talks told Reuters that Hamas is likely to react to Israel’s most recent truce request, which was given on Saturday. Two Hamas officials who spoke with Reuters declined to provide specifics of the most recent proposals.

According to the source, this included an agreement to a second phase of a truce that includes a “period of sustained calm” — Israel’s compromise response to a demand by Hamas for an ongoing ceasefire — and to accept the release of fewer than 40 hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails.

According to the source, Israel would let unrestricted travel between south and north of Gaza after the first phase and would partially withdraw its forces from the region.

According to a senior Hamas source who spoke to Reuters, the Hamas team and the Egyptian and Qatari mediators will meet on Monday in Cairo to talk about the comments the group made regarding the Israeli response to their latest offering.

The person told Reuters that “Hamas has some questions and inquires over the Israeli response to its proposal, which the movement received from mediators on Friday.”

According to such remarks, Hamas might not immediately respond to mediators on Israel’s most recent proposal.