Israel-Gaza War: Four soldiers killed in Kerem Shalom rocket attack

Four Israeli soldiers were killed in a Hamas rocket attack near one of the main crossings for the delivery of aid to Gaza, Israel said.

The Kerem Shalom border crossing was closed by Israel overnight after the attack.

Subsequent Israeli attacks on the southern Gaza town of Rafah reportedly left at least 12 people dead.

The Israeli military said early Monday it was urging Gazans sheltering in parts of Rafah to evacuate.

Negotiations over a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the release of hostages have stalled.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said 10 projectiles were fired from an area near the Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza, about 3.6 km (2.2 miles) from Kerem Shalom.

Hamas’ armed wing claimed responsibility and said its target was a nearby Israeli military base.

They were shot at from a location about 350 meters from a civil defense bunker, the IDF said

She called the launches “another clear example of the terrorist organization’s systematic exploitation of humanitarian facilities and spaces and its continued use of Gaza civilians as human shields.”

Hamas denies using civilians as human shields.

The Israeli military confirmed a counterattack in Rafah, saying it hit the launcher from which the projectiles were fired and a nearby military structure.

According to Gaza health authorities, there were two Israeli strikes on Sunday that killed at least 12 people.

The latest violence followed two days of talks with mediators in Cairo, Egypt.

There has been little progress as both Israel and Hamas said they would not back down on key demands, but discussions are expected to resume on Monday.

Hamas said its delegation would travel to Qatar to consult with the group’s leadership.

CIA chief William Burns, who was also involved in mediation efforts, has reportedly left the Egyptian capital for talks in Doha.

The ceasefire proposal is believed to include a 40-day pause in fighting, allowing for the release of hostages in Gaza and the release of a number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

Hamas said it viewed the current proposal in a “positive light,” but the main point of contention appears to be whether the ceasefire agreement would be permanent or temporary.

The group insists that any agreement includes a concrete commitment to ending the war, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected this on Sunday.

“The State of Israel cannot accept this (Hamas’ demands). We are not prepared to accept a situation in which the Hamas brigades emerge from their bunkers, take control of Gaza again, rebuild their military infrastructure and threaten the citizens of Gaza again.” Israel in the settlements around the southern Mountains, in all parts of the country.

“This will be a terrible defeat for the State of Israel,” he added.

The war began after waves of armed Hamas militants stormed across the Gaza Strip border into Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. The group is classified as a terrorist organization by many Western countries.

During the subsequent Israeli military operation in Gaza, more than 34,600 Palestinians were killed and over 77,900 injured, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Mr. Netanyahu has been under pressure from his far-right coalition to press ahead with a long-promised offensive in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, where an estimated 1.4 million people have sought refuge after escaping fighting in the northern and central part of the Gaza Strip had fled.

The US is reluctant to support a military operation that could cause significant civilian casualties and insists that a plan to protect displaced Palestinians be presented first.

Early Monday, the IDF said it was encouraging residents of the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah to head to an “enhanced humanitarian zone.”

“The expanded humanitarian zone includes field hospitals, tents and larger quantities of food, water, medicine and other relief supplies.

“In accordance with the government’s approval, an ongoing situation assessment will guide the gradual movement of civilians in the specified areas in eastern Rafah to the humanitarian area,” said a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Seven months after launching its offensive against Hamas, Israel has declared that victory is impossible without taking Rafah.

But with more than 1.4 million displaced Palestinians seeking refuge there, Western powers and neighboring Egypt have raised fears that there could be high civilian casualties.

Update May 7, 2024: The number of soldiers killed in the Hamas rocket attack has been updated from three to four in this article.