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Hamas wants cease-fire, and they want it to be perminant,
and they want more food delivered, but then they refuse
to even return 33 hostages, and then they fire rockets
and kill more Isralies
from
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68960585
Israel-Gaza war: Three soldiers killed in Kerem Shalom rocket attack
6 hours ago
By Malu Cursino & Emily Atkinson,
BBC News
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Reuters An Israeli medic walks near soldiers and an ambulance after the
attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing, near Israel's border with Gaza in
southern Israel, 5 May 2024.Reuters
The armed wing of Hamas said it was responsible for rocket fire in the
Kerem Shalom border area. (Pictured: An Israeli medic after the attack)
Israel has closed the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza after Hamas fired
rockets from within the strip.
Israel said the attack killed three of its soldiers, injuring several
others.
The crossing is one of the few routes to get humanitarian aid, including
food and medical supplies, into Gaza.
Mediators in the Egypt have held two days of talks aimed at securing a
deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
In a statement, Hamas said the latest round had ended on Sunday and that
its delegation would now travel from Cairo to Qatar to consult with the
group's leadership.
The CIA chief William Burns, who has also been involved in mediation
efforts, has also left the Egyptian capital for talks in Doha, according
to reports.
The truce proposal is believed to involve a 40-day pause in fighting
while hostages are released, and the release of a number of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails.
Hamas said it viewed the current proposal in a "positive light", but the
main sticking point appears to be whether the ceasefire deal would be
permanent or temporary.
The group is insisting any deal makes a specific commitment towards an
end to the war, but Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected
that on Sunday.
"The state of Israel cannot accept this [Hamas's demands], we are not
prepared to accept a situation in which the Hamas brigades come out of
their bunkers, take control of Gaza again, rebuild their military infrastructure, and return to threatening the citizens of Israel in the settlements surrounding the southern mountains, in all parts of the country.
"This will be a terrible defeat for the state of Israel," he added.
The war began after waves of Hamas gunmen stormed across Gaza's border
into Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and taking more
than 250 hostages. The group is proscribed as a terrorist organisation
by many Western countries.
During the subsequent Israeli military campaign in Gaza, more than
34,600 Palestinians have been killed and over 77,900 wounded, according
to figures from the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
Mr Netanyahu has faced pressure from within his far-right coalition to
press ahead with the long-promised offensive in Gaza's southern-most
city, Rafah, where an estimated 1.4 million people have taken shelter
after fleeing fighting in northern and central parts of the strip.
The US is reluctant to back a military operation that could cause
significant civilian casualties, and has insisted on seeing a plan to
protect displaced Palestinians first.
The Israeli government also faces mounting pressure at home.
Of the 252 hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October, 128 are
still unaccounted for - and among them, at least 34 are presumed dead.
Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, says it carried out the attack
on the Kerem Shalom crossing, saying it had targeted troops with
short-range rockets.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said 10 projectiles had been fired from
an area near the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza, about 3.6km (2.2
miles) from Kerem Shalom.
The IDF said they were fired from a site some 350m from a civilian
shelter, before it destroyed the launcher and a nearby military site.
It called the launches "another clear example of the terrorist
organisation's systematic exploitation of humanitarian facilities and
spaces, and their continued use of the Gazan civilian population as
human shields".
Ceasefire talks have gone on for months without a breakthrough, and
there has not been a pause in fighting or a release of hostages since
the end of November.
There have been moments at which a new agreement has seemed imminent -
only to fall through before being signed.
Map of Kerem Shalom crossings
Why are Israel and Hamas fighting in Gaza?
Gaza ceasefire talks intensify in Cairo
Blinken says 'time is now' for Israel-Hamas deal in Gaza
Israel-Gaza war
Israel
Hamas
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