TRANSCRIPT
A Hamas official has warned there will be no ceasefire deal if Israel's military offensive in Rafah continues.
Israeli forces have seized the main border crossing between Egypt and southern Gaza, shutting down an aid route into the Palestinian enclave that is already on the brink of famine.
Hamas' Osama Hamdan says it's normal for Hamas to respond to Israel's aggression.
“The goal is to confirm the continuation of the negotiation process, or the continuation of the political process in order to bind the Israelis to agree to this agreement and to make practical arrangements for that. In any case, I indicated and said that the ball is in the Israeli court and in the American administration's court.”
Mr Hamdan's comments come as a delegation from Hamas has arrived in Cairo from Doha to continue ceasefire negotiations - which Israel is also expected to attend.
Israeli officials say a deal can still be achieved with Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza, even though the ground offensive in Rafah has already begun.
David Mencer is the Israeli spokesman at the National Public Diplomacy Directorate.
“The war cabinet unanimously, unanimously decided Israel will continue its operation in Rafah in order to apply military pressure on Hamas to release our hostages and achieve all the war's objectives despite Hamas's grandstanding. Hamas's proposal is far from Israel's core demands. Nevertheless, Israel will dispatch a ranking delegation to Egypt to maximize any chance of an agreement on terms acceptable to Israel.”
The conditions of the agreement are yet to be made public but one of the main terms is considered to be the release of the remaining hostages captured during the October 7 raids.
Israel's offensive has attracted international criticism - after many nations warned Israel not to go ahead with it.
Head of the United Nations office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Andrea De Domenico, says the closure of the Rafah border bears serious humanitarian consequences.
“The closure of Rafah Crossing has severed access to fuel for humanitarian activities, the entry of critical humanitarian items, and curtailed the movement of staff. Protection of civilians for us remain essential, of course, as is humanitarian assets and supplies. And we are seeking assurances from all parties to the conflict that they should help us to protect those and ensure respect of civilians.”
UN officials have warned they don't have a physical presence at the Rafah crossing and cutting off fuel supplies would put their humanitarian operation "in its grave".
Rafah is filled with more than a million displaced civilians huddling in tents and overcrowded apartments, and the border crossing is the main entry point for desperately needed aid.
Children's charity UNICEF spokesman James Elder says famine has already been projected in parts of Northern Gaza.
“It's hard to see, if that closes for an extended period, how aid agencies avert famine across the Gaza Strip. Families’ coping capacity has been smashed. Families are hanging on, psychologically and physically, by a thread. I do not recall meeting a single family – and I met scores – a single family in Rafah who hadn't lost a home or a loved one.”
The Israeli military had earlier ordered tens of thousands of civilians to begin evacuating nearby eastern parts of Rafah city, ahead of what it called a limited operation to eliminate Hamas fighters.
But the United States has suggested the current Rafah operation isn't the assault President Joe Biden had warned Israel against.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says President Joe Biden has also been told the Karem Shalom crossing into Gaza will re-open in the next day or two to allow the flow of aid.
“What we've been told by our Israeli counterparts is that this operation last night was limited and designed to cut off Hamas's ability to smuggle weapons and funds into Gaza. Now our views on Rafah remain the same. We've repeatedly and consistently expressed those views about a major operation in Rafah in densely populated areas that would give higher risk to civilians and civilian casualties.”
