- 7 May 2024 - 18:15(18:15 GMT)
Dutch FM says she discussed Rafah assault, Al Jazeera ban with Israeli counterpart
Dutch foreign affairs minister Hanke Bruins Slot has said that she discussed the need for a deal between Israel and Hamas and warned against an assault on Rafah during a meeting with her Israeli counterpart Israel Katz on Tuesday. Slot also said that she brought up Israel’s recent move to ban Al Jazeera.
“Good meeting with Israeli FM @Israel_katz in #Jerusalem. We discussed the urgent need for a deal between Israel and Hamas, resulting in an immediate ceasefire and the release of the hostages, as well as massively more humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people in Gaza,” Slot said in a social media post.
“I explicitly warned against a large-scale ground offensive in Rafah. This would be catastrophic for the Gazans who have sought shelter there, and would thus have political consequences,” she added.
Good meeting with Israeli FM @Israel_katz in #Jerusalem. We discussed the urgent need for a deal between Israel and Hamas, resulting in an immediate ceasefire and the release of the hostages, as well as massively more humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people in Gaza. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/0M6oFRaCBu
— Hanke Bruins Slot (@HankeBruinsSlot) May 7, 2024
- 6 May 2024 - 23:55(23:55 GMT)
A recap of today’s developments
Here’s what happened today:
- Hamas said it accepted mediated proposals for a ceasefire agreement that involves three phases and includes the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, a return of displaced Palestinians to their homes as well as an exchange of Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners.
- The Israeli cabinet said it is sending a delegation to continue talks in Cairo, but also signalled it is moving ahead with attacks on Rafah as bombing of the southern city in Gaza increased overnight.
- Protesters held demonstrations in multiple Israeli cities to demand that the authorities accept a ceasefire deal and bring back some 130 captives still believed to be held in Gaza.
- Iran welcomed the Hamas stance, saying it supports the plan that includes a sustainable ceasefire, exchange of prisoners, withdrawal of Israeli troops and reconstruction of Gaza. The US said it is still “reviewing” the proposals and will not get into details.
- The Hamas announcement came hours after the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of 100,000 Palestinians from Rafah to make way for what it called a “limited” military operation in a city where 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering.
- 6 May 2024 - 23:45(23:45 GMT)
Israeli protesters say demonstrations ‘just the start’ in absence of ceasefire deal to free captives
Several protests continued through the night in Tel Aviv, with demonstrators calling on Israeli authorities to agree to a deal with Hamas to get captives out of Gaza.
The Monday night protests would be “just the start” if there is no ceasefire deal, said Einvar Zangauker, the mother of captive Matan Zangauker, who had led protests earlier in the day as well.
“The time has come to take the deal,” Zangauker could be heard shouting into a loudspeaker as she stood on the roof of a car in demonstrations at the Ayalon freeway, which Israeli media reported were later dispersed.
- 6 May 2024 - 23:35(23:35 GMT)
WATCH: Gaza ceasefire could end Netanyahu’s leadership; war continuation could end Biden’s
Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst breaks down the forces at work behind the scenes in this latest round of ceasefire talks, and explains the motivations of Israeli and US leaders, as a push to reach a ceasefire in Gaza is under way.
Watch our video to learn more:
- 6 May 2024 - 23:25(23:25 GMT)
Qatar sending delegation to Cairo on Tuesday to resume negotiations
The Qatari Foreign Ministry has confirmed in a statement that it is sending a delegation to Cairo on Tuesday morning to resume indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari says Doha hopes “that the talks will culminate in reaching an agreement for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the exchange of prisoners and detainees, and the sustainable flow of humanitarian aid into all areas of the Strip”.
Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs @majedalansari : Hamas sent the mediators a response to their proposals regarding the truce#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/iczcpOIQyp
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) May 6, 2024
- 6 May 2024 - 23:05(23:05 GMT)
Palestinians killed as Israel continues to bomb Rafah
Gaza’s Civil Defence announced on its Telegram channel that its crews are “still recovering a number of [dead] and injured people” from under the rubble of a house hit by Israeli warplanes a short while ago.
It added that it was able to control a fire that broke out after the strike.
- 6 May 2024 - 22:55(22:55 GMT)
Israeli army says rockets fired at Sderot from Gaza intercepted
Earlier, we reported that the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed a rocket attack on Sderot in Israel.
Three rockets were fired towards the city, with two intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defence system and a third hitting an open area without inflicting damage or casualties, according to the Israeli military.
A spokesperson for Sderot said minor damage was caused to property from falling shrapnel following the interceptions, the Times of Israel reported.
- 6 May 2024 - 22:45(22:45 GMT)
Conservative US judges boycott Columbia graduates over campus protests
A group of 13 conservative US federal judges promise they will not hire law students or undergraduates from Columbia University due to pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
In a letter to Columbia President Minouche Shafik and Law Dean Gillian Lester, the judges, all appointed by former US President Donald Trump and most based in Texas, called for “serious consequences” for students and faculty who participated in demonstrations.
“Both professors and administrators are on the front lines of the campus disruptions, encouraging the virulent spread of anti-Semitism and bigotry,” the letter reads.
The university earlier on Monday cancelled its main graduation ceremony due to the ongoing protests.
- 6 May 2024 - 22:30(22:30 GMT)
Read the entire ceasefire proposal agreed to by Hamas
Al Jazeera has obtained a copy of a proposal put forth by mediators Qatar and Egypt that would see a ceasefire in Gaza, which Hamas announced that it agreed to earlier this evening.
Clear here to read the full text of the agreement and learn the exact breakdown of the three phases of the proposed ceasefire plan.
- 6 May 2024 - 22:15(22:15 GMT)
Pulitzer board awards ‘special citation’ to journalists covering Gaza
The 2024 Pulitzer Prize Special Citation has been awarded to “journalists and media workers covering the war in Gaza”.
The board of the prestigious awards did not name specifically “Palestinian” journalists – a record number of whom have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza since the start of the war.
Journalists and media workers covering the war in Gaza have received a 2024 #Pulitzer Prize Special Citation. pic.twitter.com/dkkEwHNyjA
— The Pulitzer Prizes (@PulitzerPrizes) May 6, 2024
- 6 May 2024 - 22:05(22:05 GMT)
Israel bans Al Jazeera: What does it mean and what happens next?
Israel’s cabinet unanimously voted to shut down Al Jazeera in the country on Sunday, immediately ordering the closure of its offices and a ban on the company’s broadcasts.
The decision was announced by Netanyahu on X. Hours later, Israel’s Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi published footage on X showing Israeli authorities – specifically inspectors from the Ministry of Communications, backed by the police – raiding the Al Jazeera office in East Jerusalem and confiscating the channel’s equipment.
To find out all you need to know about Israel’s Al Jazeera ban, and how it might affect reporting on the war on Gaza and beyond, read more here.
- 6 May 2024 - 22:00(22:00 GMT)
A look at phases two and three of the ceasefire agreement
In the ceasefire proposal agreed to earlier today by Hamas, phase one is the most crucial and the most tenuous, and therefore the most heavily detailed, according to a copy of the text received by Al Jazeera from Hamas sources.
Phases two and three, also set to last for a period of 42 days each, are much more vaguely outlined, but nonetheless include a firm set of
Phase two will see, according to the agreement:
“A return to sustainable calm (a permanent cessation of military and hostile operations) must be announced and take effect before the exchange of captives and prisoners – all remaining living Israeli men (civilians and soldiers) in exchange for an agreed-upon number of prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons and detention camps. Israeli forces shall withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip.”
Phase three, according to the text, will include:
“An exchange of the bodies and remains of the dead on both sides after they have been retrieved and identified. The reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip over a period of three to five years – including homes, civilian facilities, and infrastructure – and compensating all those affected, under the supervision of several countries and organisations, including: Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations. A complete end to the siege of the Gaza Strip.”
You can read more about the agreement in our story here.
- 6 May 2024 - 21:55(21:55 GMT)
What are the implications of Israel’s ban on Al Jazeera?
Al Jazeera has condemned the Israeli government’s decision to shut down the media network’s operations in the country as a criminal act against international and humanitarian law.
What’s behind this ban? And how effective will it be?
Our panel of experts below helps break down Israel’s ban on Al Jazeera and the consequences of such a move.
Watch the video below:
- 6 May 2024 - 21:50(21:50 GMT)
A look at the first phase of the ceasefire agreement agreed to by Hamas
We’ve been reporting on a statement from the Palestinian group that it agreed to a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza put forth by mediators Qatar and Egypt.
According to a copy of the proposal obtained by Al Jazeera from Hamas sources, the agreement would be implemented in three phases.
The first phase, lasting 42 days, would see the release of 33 Israeli captives held in Gaza, “including women (civilians and soldiers), children (under the age of 19 who are not soldiers), those over the age of 50, and the sick”, the agreement says.
The release of each category of Israeli captive will lead to the release of a corresponding number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
“All necessary legal procedures to ensure that freed Palestinian prisoners are not re-arrested on the same charges are to be completed,” the agreement says.
In addition to extensively detailing the prisoner swap, the proposal also includes plans for the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops “away from densely populated areas to a defined area along the border all along the Gaza Strip”, as well as the suspension of all air traffic over the Strip and a plan to return displaced Palestinians to their homes.
You can read more about the first phase of the proposed ceasefire here.
- 6 May 2024 - 21:45(21:45 GMT)
UN concerned about Rafah invasion
The concerns of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have been echoed by the Office for Humanitarian Affairs and the High Commissioner for Human Rights here.
They all say that an evacuation or ground operation would just be impossible to carry out because there’s no place safe for people to go in Gaza.
They point out that people are being asked to relocate to an area that is already overcrowded, doesn’t have adequate services, and that evacuation corridors are likely to have mines and unexploded ordnance in them.
Military action in Rafah would also cripple humanitarian operations, another concern for the UN.
- 6 May 2024 - 21:35(21:35 GMT)
WATCH: UK university students join pro-Palestine protests
Students in the UK, including those at Cambridge and Oxford, are showing solidarity with Palestine and their peers around the world.
Similar to protests in the US, Canada and France, encampments were set up on campus with students demanding a boycott and divestment from Israel.
Watch the video below:
- 6 May 2024 - 21:25(21:25 GMT)
Hezbollah claims three attacks on Israeli positions
After a day of ramped-up attacks on Sunday, the armed Lebanese group had a more subdued Monday in its border fighting with Israel, claiming three attacks in its end-of-day report.
Hezbollah said it launched “dozens of Katyusha rockets” at an Israeli military headquarters located in the occupied Golan Heights, in response to an earlier Israeli attack that hit the Bekaa region in Lebanon.
Claiming a new attack on the Metula settlement, the group said it hit a group of Israeli soldiers and their vehicles, inflicting casualties and damage.
Lastly, Hezbollah claimed a direct hit on “technical equipment” on the Israeli-Lebanese border.
- 6 May 2024 - 21:15(21:15 GMT)
Hamas says Palestinians ‘will not back down from demands’
Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh has had a phone call with Ziyad al-Nakhalah, the head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the group’s acceptance of a proposal by mediators.
Hamas said in a statement that the two leaders emphasised that “resistance factions will not back down from their demands”, including a ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal of Israeli troops, an “honourable” exchange of prisoners, reconstruction of Gaza and the lifting of the siege.
“The two leaders also reviewed the procedures required to ensure the implementation of the agreement after the resistance took its decision based on a conscious vision of developments in the current situation at all levels,” a statement from Hamas said.
- 6 May 2024 - 21:05(21:05 GMT)
Jordan’s FM says Netanyahu risking ceasefire by bombing Rafah
“Tremendous effort has been made to produce an exchange deal that’ll release hostages & realize a ceasefire,” Ayman Safadi said on X after the Israeli army announced it would be carrying out strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza’s southern city.
“Hamas has put out an offer. If Netanyahu genuinely wants a deal, he will negotiate the offer in earnest. Instead, he is jeopardizing the deal by bombing Rafah,” Safadi said.
- 6 May 2024 - 20:55(20:55 GMT)
Iran welcomes Hamas response to ceasefire proposal
The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman says in a short statement that Iran welcomes the Hamas response to “stop the genocide machine of the Zionist regime” in Gaza.
Nasser Kanaani called the move by Hamas significant in terms of the “political intelligence of the resistance”, and a different representation of its success on the field of battle.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran supports the plan presented for the realisation of the rights of the Palestinian people, including the immediate and sustainable cessation of attacks and crimes by the Zionist regime, the lifting of the cruel blockade against the Gaza Strip, the release of Palestinian prisoners, the complete and unconditional withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from the Gaza Strip and the reconstruction of the ruins”, the statement reads.
- 6 May 2024 - 20:50(20:50 GMT)
WATCH: Israel needs to evaluate deal Hamas agreed to, White House says
White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby has told reporters that Israel must have a chance to evaluate the ceasefire deal Hamas agreed to, as the US’s CIA director continues talks with leaders in the region.
Watch the video below:
- 6 May 2024 - 20:45(20:45 GMT)
If you are just joining us
Let’s bring you up to speed with the significant events unfolding over the last few hours:
- Celebrations erupt in Gaza after Hamas says it has accepted a ceasefire proposal put forward by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
- A member of Hamas’s political bureau tells Al Jazeera the proposal includes a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, a return of displaced Palestinians to their homes, as well as an exchange of Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says the proposed deal did not meet Israel’s basic demands but it will send a delegation to Cairo for negotiations.
- Meanwhile, the Israeli war cabinet decides the military operation on the southern Gaza city of Rafah will go ahead, with the army announcing strikes on the east of the city.
- The United States government says it is reviewing Hamas’s response to the ceasefire proposal, declining to provide a timeframe.
- The US Department of State also reasserts US opposition to an Israeli assault on Rafah. “We cannot support an operation in Rafah as it is currently envisioned,” spokesperson Matthew Miller says, adding that the US has not seen a credible plan to protect the 1.5 million civilians sheltering in the city.
- 6 May 2024 - 20:40(20:40 GMT)
Al-Quds Brigades fires rockets towards Israel
The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad says it has launched rockets from Gaza towards southern Israel in response to Israeli air strikes on the Strip.
“We have targeted Sderot, Nir Am, and settlements in the Gaza envelope with rocket barrages,” the al-Quds Brigades said in a statement, referring to a zone of southern Israel close to Gaza.
The Israeli army said sirens sounded in communities near the besieged and bombarded territory.
- 6 May 2024 - 20:35(20:35 GMT)
Limited Rafah operation could be ‘US gift to Netanyahu’
For the negotiations to work, it would be extremely important to get assurances of implementation from the US, according to Tamer Qarmout, an assistant professor of public policy at the Doha Institute of Graduate Studies.
“If the Americans have blessed this new version of the deal, then it has a high chance to succeed,” he told Al Jazeera.
“The Americans are opposing a major military operation in Rafah, including reoccupying Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor, but I’m not sure if they are rejecting a limited military operation. Maybe this could be their gift to Netanyahu.”
This, the analyst said, could allow Israel to go into Rafah and claim its victory and enable Netanyahu to assuage his far-right coalition.
“But when you look at the real world, first of all, there is the suffering and the despair of people in Gaza and the 1.5 million people in Rafah who don’t know what’s going to happen to them. And then there are the millions of people all over the world who are screaming and crying and want to see an end to this.”
Israel’s war on Gaza updates: Israel hits Rafah as Hamas accepts truce deal
Israeli military says it is striking targets in Rafah after Hamas announces it accepted a ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators.
This live page is now closed. You can continue to follow our coverage of the war in Gaza here.
- Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says the group has accepted a Gaza ceasefire proposal put forward by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
- Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says the proposal agreed by Hamas is far from Israel’s demands but the Israeli government will send a delegation to negotiate. It also says war cabinet decided that Israel will continue its operation on Rafah, with the army announcing striking targets in the east of the city.
- Thousands of people earlier fled eastern Rafah after Israel ordered people to evacuate as fears of a full-blown military assault on the city sheltering more than one million displaced people grow.
- Hamas says any Israeli military offensive on Rafah in southern Gaza will not be a “picnic”, adds it is “fully prepared” to defend Palestinians.
- At least 34,735 people have been killed and 78,108 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies