(Bloomberg) — Israel closed the Kerem Shalom humanitarian border crossing into Gaza on Sunday after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets from the southern Gaza city of Rafah, an incident that could jeopardize delicate ceasefire negotiations can bring.
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Israel and Hamas have been negotiating for weeks through mediators over a possible ceasefire that would include the release of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. At the same time, Israel has threatened to launch an operation in Rafah, where it says Hamas battalions remain intact and hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians are sheltering.
The Israeli military said about 10 projectiles were fired at Kerem Shalom, a corridor for humanitarian aid transfers that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited last week. Hamas’s military wing claimed responsibility for the attack, which Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a social media post injured seven people.
The Israeli military did not immediately confirm the number of casualties but said the launches took place “adjacent to the Rafah Crossing, approximately 350 meters (0.2 miles) from civilian shelters.”
The attack came hours after the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is willing to temporarily halt the war in Gaza to secure the release of hostages held there, but will not agree to Hamas’ demands for a complete end to the war. Israel’s defense minister warned that his forces continue to prepare for a possible attack on Rafah in southern Gaza.
Netanyahu’s cabinet also approved a decision on Sunday to halt Al Jazeera’s broadcasts from Israel under a recently passed law, which was quickly condemned by the Qatar-based network and the Foreign Press Association.
Read more: Netanyahu’s cabinet votes to end Al Jazeera’s Israeli operations
Netanyahu doubled down on his position on Sunday.
“We are not ready to accept a situation in which the Hamas battalions come out of their bunkers, retake control of Gaza, rebuild their military infrastructure and return to threatening the citizens of Israel in the surrounding settlements, in the cities in the south. , in all parts of the country,” Netanyahu said in a statement on Sunday. Hamas, not Israel, is preventing a deal, he added.
Giving in to Hamas’s demands would be a “terrible defeat” for Israel, a huge victory for Hamas and Iran, and would project a “terrible weakness” for both Israel’s friends and enemies, Netanyahu said, according to a statement released by his office. .
This weakness would keep any further peace deal at bay, Netanyahu said, in an apparent reference to a possible normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia.
Read more: US-Saudi defense pact not possible without Israel Deal, says FT
“This weakness will only bring the next war closer and push the next peace agreement further away,” Netanyahu said. “No alliances are made with the weak and defeated; alliances are made with the strong and the victors.”
Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement that the group, which is considered a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union, brought “seriousness and positivity” to the current talks.
Netanyahu, he said, wanted to “create constant justifications for the continuation of aggression, expand the circle of conflict and sabotage the efforts of various mediators and parties.”
Hamas conducted a series of contacts with mediators and with resistance factions, and held intensive meetings and consultations before sending its delegation to Cairo, he said.
Hamas is still keen to reach a comprehensive agreement that will guarantee the withdrawal of Israeli forces and broker a serious prisoner and hostage exchange deal, Haniyeh added.
In response, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he sees indications that Hamas does not want a deal that would open the door to “intense” military activity in Rafah.
“IDF forces are ready for a strong operation across Gaza and especially in the Rafah area,” he said in a message on X.
Earlier on Sunday, an airstrike blamed by Lebanon on Israel killed four civilians and wounded two others in a village in southern Lebanon, prompting Hezbollah to fire rockets back across the border.
Israeli warplanes targeted May’s al-Jabal, causing “massive destruction,” the Lebanese state news agency reported on Sunday. Israel has not commented yet.
Hezbollah said it fired “dozens” of rockets at Kiryat Shmona in response to Israel’s attack, the militant group’s Al-Manar TV reported.
Israeli forces have exchanged cross-border fire with Lebanon-based Hezbollah almost daily since the campaign against Hamas began in October. Tensions with Iran-backed Hezbollah appear to have increased since Israel and Tehran began attacking each other directly last month.
Tens of thousands of Israelis and Lebanese have fled their homes near the border due to ongoing cross-border fighting. That erupted around the time Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and sparking the war in Gaza, which destroyed much of the enclave and killed more than 34,000 Palestinians. More than a hundred Israelis captured by Hamas are still being held in Gaza, although it is unclear how many are still alive.
Hezbollah is believed to have more than 100,000 fighters, many of whom are close to the border with Israel. The group has a much larger and more advanced arsenal of missiles and other weapons than Hamas. Both militant groups are considered terrorist organizations by the US.
(Updates with Kerem Shalom attack)
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