Israel's invasion of Rafah, the Great Wall of Ceasefire in Gaza

On Monday (6/5/2024), the Hamas group announced their agreement to a ceasefire offered by Qatar and Egypt, two mediators in the Hamas-Israel negotiations. As reported, the proposed ceasefire will take place in three stages.

Also read: Hamas Agrees to Ceasefire, Israel Announces Attack on Rafah

The first phase, which lasted for 42 days, was marked by the release of 33 Israeli hostages - who were still alive or dead - in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel. During this phase, some Israeli forces were withdrawn from Gaza Strip.

In the second stage, the parties will negotiate again, followed by the release of the remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the entire Gaza area. In the third stage, the exchange of hostage bodies and the start of reconstruction of Gaza, which is estimated to take three to five years (Kompas.id, 7/5/2024).

Not only did they declare that the ceasefire proposal did not meet their main demands, but only a few hours later, Israel also sent their tanks and attacked Rafah, and seized the border crossing with Egypt. The border was also closed. There is no longer any entry point for the distribution of humanitarian aid to the citizens of Gaza.

Also read: Attack on Rafah, Depopulation of Gaza

Meanwhile, in Gaza, the humanitarian disaster is expected to worsen, while indirect negotiation efforts between Hamas and Israel continue in Cairo, Egypt. How much chance this negotiation has to produce a ceasefire agreement is uncertain.

The gap between the demands of Hamas and Israel is still too wide. For example, Hamas wants a permanent ceasefire, while Israel only wants a temporary truce. Hamas demands that Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza, while Israel wants to maintain control over the enclave.

The points, among others, will be discussed by Hamas and Israel delegations in Cairo through Qatar, Egypt, and the United States as intermediaries. If the negotiations fail again, Israel will expand its attacks on Rafah, a refuge for 1.4 million residents of Gaza, and will immerse Gaza in a famine disaster, as feared all along.

Also read: Netanyahu Refuses to End Gaza War, Hamas-Israel Negotiations Fail Again

On Monday (6/5/2024), Israel issued an ultimatum for 100,000 residents of Gaza to evacuate from Rafah. Some of the residents have already moved to evacuation centers in Gaza more than once or twice. Some have even relocated up to four times. "Only God knows where we will step," said Abdullah al-Najar, one of the residents of Gaza, to Reuters.

As Najar said, perhaps only God knows when a ceasefire will be realized in Gaza.