Hamas has accepted a ceasefire deal after months of talks, its leadership has announced.
The proposal, brokered by Egyptian and Qatari officials, had finally been accepted by the group this evening - but Israeli sources have already slammed the announcement as a "ruse" intended to frame the country as unwilling to accept a deal.
Hamas's supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, had delivered the news on a phone call with the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Egypt's intelligence minister, Abbas Kamel.
The proposal to which Hamas agreed entails a ceasefire, "reconstruction" of Gaza, return of the displaced and a prisoner swap deal, Hamas official Taher Al-Nono told Reuters on Monday evening.
Khalil Al-Hayya, the group's deputy chief in Gaza told Al Jazeera that the proposal was a "three-phased agreement", with each phase lasting 42 days.
Hamas's supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh (pictured) had delivered the news on a phone call with Qatari and Egyptian officials
Reuters
Hamas leaders also confirmed representatives would be travelling to Egyptian capital Cairo soon to discuss the agreement, along with "next steps".
The group's deputy Gaza chief said Egyptian mediators said they would "guarantee" war would not resume in the region, and claimed the "second stage" of the agreement entails a "full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza".
But an Israeli official said on Monday the truce was a "softened" version of an Egyptian proposal that included "far-reaching" conclusions that Israel could not accept.
"This would appear to be a ruse intended to make Israel look like the side refusing a deal," said the Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
MORE ON ISRAEL AND HAMAS:
In Gaza, crowds reacted to the news with celebration
Reuters
More images from the celebrations in Gaza
Reuters
In Gaza, crowds reacted to the news with cheers, with footage from outside the embattled region's al-Aqsa hospital showing Gazans chanting and banging pots and pans in celebration.
Reacting to the news, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "We welcome the statement by Hamas that they accepted the ceasefire with our suggestion. Now, Israel must take the same step."
Both American and Israeli responses to the statement were keen to highlight the importance of returning Hamas's Israeli hostages; the Israel Defence Forces' (IDF) rear admiral Daniel Hagari said "there were Holocaust survivors who were killed and kidnapped" by Hamas, and Israel has a "moral obligation to work in any way possible to bring them home as quickly as possible".
While US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said: "We are reviewing that [Hamas's] response now and discussing it with others in the region.
Joe Biden had called Benjamin Netanyahu to reaffirm his "clear" position that the US does not support an invasion in Rafah without a plan for its civilians
PA"We will discussing this response with our partners in the coming hours. We continue to believe a hostage deal is in the best interests of the Israeli people and Palestinian people."
The announcement came after Israel called on civilians to leave eastern Rafah on Monday ahead of a ground invasion of the city in southern Gaza - which Miller said would make it "incredibly difficult to sustain the increases in humanitarian assistance".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed to send ground troops into Rafah regardless of any truce - but the IDF's rear admiral Hagari said the IDF was monitoring every answer and response and was exhausting every possibility regarding negotiations.
And earlier, US President Joe Biden had called Netanyahu to reaffirm his "clear" position that the US does not support an invasion in Rafah without a plan for its civilian residents.
Late on Monday, a US official familiar with the negotiations between Hamas and Israel said the latter still plans to proceed with a 90-day plan to invade Rafah, which Washington is committed to stopping.
"Netanyahu and the war cabinet have not appeared to approach the latest phase of negotiations (with Hamas) in good faith", the official told Reuters, asking not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
But a statement from Israel's Prime Minister said despite Hamas's proposal being "far from meeting Israel's demands", Israel will send a working delegation to negotiate.
Netanyahu added that Israel "will continue" its operation in Rafah in order to "pressure Hamas into releasing hostages".
