Photo: MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP / Getty Images
Hamas accepted the terms of a ceasefire deal in its ongoing war with Israel. On Monday (May 6), Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas' political bureau, informed Qatari and Egyptian negotiators that the group was willing to accept the terms of the deal to lay down arms and end the war with Israel.
According to CNN, one of the most recent proposals required Hamas to release between 20 and 33 prisoners over the next few weeks in exchange for a ceasefire and the release of an unknown number of Palestinian prisoners. That would be followed by a "restoration of sustainable calm" as the remaining Israeli and Palestinian hostages are released and the bodies of the deceased prisoners are returned.
It is unclear if those are the terms that Hamas agreed to or if the proposal has since been updated.
The news of a potential ceasefire comes as Israel began warning Palestinians to evacuate Rafah ahead of planned military operations in the city. Israel is facing mounting pressure to ease up on the attacks as many experts were concerned about the potential massacre if Israel attacked Rafah.
"We've been warning against a military operation in Rafah because the consequences will be deadly and devastating for the over 1 million [internally displaced persons] in the area," Samah Hadid, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council, said in a phone interview with NBC News.
Israel issued a statement saying that it will continue its planned military operations in Rafah and will send a delegation to meet with mediators to discuss the ceasefire deal.
"The War Cabinet unanimously decided that Israel continues its operation in Rafah in order to exert military pressure on Hamas,” the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said. “At the same time, even though Hamas' proposal is far from Israel's necessary requirements, Israel will send a working level delegation to the mediators."