Live Gaza | Netanyahu zegt dat akkoord ver weg is, Rutte maakt zich zorgen
- Israël betreedt zuiden van Gazastrook
- Leger neemt grenspost tussen Egypte en Gaza over
- Israëlische tanks aan de rand van Rafah
- VN kan Gaza niet meer via Rafah bereiken
- Onderhandelingen gaan verder in Caïro
Liveblog
dinsdag 7 mei om 19:00
In navolging van premier Rutte heeft ook het Witte Huis zich uitgelaten over de situatie in Gaza. Volgens woordvoerder John Kirby is er geen sprake van een grootschalig Israëlisch grondoffensief.
Israël en de Verenigde Staten hebben elkaar op diplomatiek niveau gesproken. Israël zou in die gesprekken hebben benadrukt dat de huidige militaire operatie gericht is tegen wapensmokkellaars.
Gesprekken tussen Hamas en Israël zouden dinsdagavond weer worden voortgezet. Kirby zegt zeker te weten dat “de laatste plooien worden gladgestreken”.
dinsdag 7 mei om 18:12
Israel’s military operation in the south of the Gaza Strip is not yet the controversial ground offensive, according to outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte. The outgoing cabinet previously announced that it would take measures if Israel launches a major ground offensive in Rafah.
“This does not seem to be that,” says Rutte. However, he has “very serious concerns” about the military operation. About 1.4 million Palestinians live in Rafah and experts fear a humanitarian disaster in the event of an offensive.
Rutte also says he is very concerned about the fact that Israel is making it more difficult for aid supplies to reach the area. There is a serious shortage of food, drinks and medicine in Gaza.
Tuesday May 7 at 5:23 PM
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has responded for the first time to the ceasefire proposal. Hamas agreed yesterday, but Netanyahu believes the proposal is “severely flawed” and does not take into account Israel’s “essential demands”.
According to the prime minister, the offensive in Rafah is necessary to “destroy what is left of Hamas.” Netanyahu says he wants to keep the military pressure on Hamas to get the Israeli hostages back.
Tuesday May 7 at 4:28 PM
Hamas reports that a hostage was killed by an Israeli airstrike on Rafah last night. It concerns a seventy-year-old Israeli woman. Israel has not yet said anything about the possible death of the hostage. Hamas has previously reported hostage deaths without providing evidence.
Israel estimates that about a hundred hostages are still being held alive by Hamas. Their release is being negotiated in Cairo, mediated by Egypt and Qatar.
Tuesday May 7 at 4:06 PM
A Palestinian man looks out over the eastern part of Rafah, where an Israeli attack is currently taking place.
Tuesday May 7 at 3:52 PM
António Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, calls on Israel to reopen the border crossings and to take a constructive position in negotiations with Hamas.
According to Guterres, it would be a “strategic mistake, political disaster and humanitarian nightmare” if Israel fully targets Rafah.
Tuesday May 7 at 3:29 PM
Israeli tanks gather at the Gaza Strip border.
Tuesday May 7 at 3:03 PM
Israel asks aid organizations to evacuate Rafah
Israel calls on international aid agencies to help evacuate Palestinians from Rafah. This is what a spokesperson for the Israeli government told the news agency Reuters.
Tuesday May 7 at 2:43 PM
Clouds of smoke have been hanging over the eastern part of Rafah all day. Israel has launched a ground and air offensive there because it is said to be a strategic location for Hamas.
Tuesday May 7 at 1:26 PM
Israel reports today that it will send a delegation to Cairo. A ceasefire is being negotiated in the Egyptian capital. A top Israeli official emphasizes that the delegation will not consist of top officials because it is not an “acceptable deal”.
Hamas also sends a delegation to Cairo. According to the group, the Israeli takeover of the Rafah crossing is intended to undermine ceasefire efforts.
Tuesday May 7 at 1:22 PM
Israeli tanks drive along the Gaza Strip border.
Tuesday May 7 at 12:55
Wounded Palestinians helped into tents
The Kuwait hospital in Rafah does not have enough beds and resources to help injured Palestinians. This is what hospital director Suhaib Al Hamas said. According to him, dozens of injured people have already been taken to hospital since last night’s Israeli attack. The victims are collected and treated in tents next to the hospital.
The hospital is receiving more patients than normal because Al Najjar (the largest hospital in the region) is located in an Israeli-controlled area.
Tuesday May 7 at 12:48
Palestinians set up tents on the coast of Deir al Balah, north of Khan Younis. The western region is one of the places where Palestinians flee from Rafah.
Tuesday May 7 at 12:19
Young Palestinians walk through the rubble in the Tel al Sultan neighborhood of Rafah. The city was hit by Israeli airstrikes last night.
Tuesday May 7 at 12:07
The Israeli army has distributed photos of tanks on the Palestinian side of the Rafah border post.
Tuesday May 7 at 12:06
The Israeli authorities no longer allow the United Nations to enter the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing. “We currently have no physical presence at the Rafah crossing as Israel has denied us access to this area,” said a spokesperson for UN aid agency OCHA, which deals with aid to Gazans.
According to the spokesperson, the Gaza Strip only has fuel for a day. If the supply of fuel is held back for a longer period of time, it could mean the end of the relief operation in Gaza.
Tuesday May 7 at 12:02
Palestinians are leaving tent camps in eastern Rafah as Israel begins its offensive. They have been called upon by the Israeli army to move to Al Mawasi further west.
Tuesday May 7 at 11:57 am
Israel’s attack does not yet appear to be a large-scale invasion. The Israeli army is speaking of a “limited action” in Rafah, aimed at killing Hamas fighters and destroying their strongholds.
Images show Israeli tanks on the outskirts of Rafah, but it is unclear whether they have entered the city.
Tuesday May 7 at 11:54 am
Egypt condemns ‘dangerous escalation’ in Rafah
Egypt calls Israel’s attack a “dangerous escalation” of the conflict, threatening the lives of more than a million Palestinians. Cairo also believes that Israel is endangering talks on a ceasefire. Israel has taken over the Rafah border crossing. It is located on the border with Egypt.
Tuesday May 7 at 11:48 am
Hamas has fired rockets at Israeli soldiers at the Kerem Shalom border crossing. The Israeli position at the border crossing was also hit by Hamas rockets on Sunday. That attack led to the closure of the important crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirms that rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip, without reporting whether they have caused damage. Kerem Shalom is important for the delivery of food, medicine and other humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The border post is 3 kilometers from Rafah.
Tuesday May 7 at 11:42 am
Yesterday, Hamas announced that it had agreed to a proposed ceasefire. Israel said it was still investigating the proposal, but an anonymous official told the news agency Reuters that the conditions were “unacceptable”.
Israel and Hamas are still negotiating a possible truce in Gaza, but the Israeli army carried out attacks on Rafah in the night from Monday to Tuesday. At least fifty people have been killed, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health. These figures cannot be independently verified.
Tuesday May 7 at 11:24 am
Israel also takes over second border crossing
Israeli forces also moved towards the Kerem Shalom border crossing, about 3 kilometers from Rafah, on Monday evening. That transition is also said to have now been closed, reports say Reuters based on the Israeli army.
Tuesday May 7 at 11:23
The border post between Rafah and Egypt in the far south of the Gaza Strip has now been captured by Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet unanimously decided on Monday to proceed with the planned ground offensive in Rafah.
Tuesday May 7 at 11:18 am
0:48 Israeli tank destroys Gaza sign near Rafah
Tuesday May 7 at 11:17 am
Israeli tanks have advanced to the edge of the Gaza Strip.
Tuesday May 7 at 11:15 am
Israeli forces have taken over the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, the army reports https://twitter.com/idfonline/status/1787724622726680658. The Gaza border authority says the crossing has been closed due to the presence of Israeli tanks.
