Hamas Approves Cease-Fire Framework, Israel Yet to Accept

Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in control of the Gaza Strip, has agreed to a ceasefire agreement framework proposed by Egypt and Qatar. The White House and State Department have yet to confirm the agreement, but Hamas has announced the approval in a statement. Israel has not yet announced its stance on the framework, but if accepted, it would halt the fighting that has plagued Gaza for the past seven months.

Hamas, the Palestinian militant group based in the Gaza Strip, has agreed to a ceasefire agreement framework proposed by Egypt and Qatar, the group announced in a statement on Monday. The White House and State Department have yet to confirm the agreement as of press time, but a Hamas spokesperson has confirmed its approval to Fox News Digital. Israel has not yet announced its position on the framework. If approved, it would bring a long-awaited pause to the fighting that has raged in Gaza for the past seven months.

The agreement was brokered after Israel appeared to be preparing for a ground assault on Rafah, the final stronghold of Hamas in Gaza. The city is also playing host to more than 1 million Gazans displaced from the north.

Israel had urged Palestinians to flee Rafah ahead of the expected operation. Overnight on Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that Israel had no choice but to act in Rafah after Hamas terrorists carried out a deadly rocket attack from Rafah earlier in the day, killing four Israeli soldiers.

President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the phone about Rafah on Monday, Fox News has learned. Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to carry out a military operation in Rafah. According to Israel's army, Israeli forces are beginning with a "limited scope operation."

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesperson, said some 100,000 people were being ordered to move to a nearby Israel-declared humanitarian zone called Muwasi. He said Israel had published a map of the evacuation area, and these orders were issued through air-dropped leaflets, text messages, and radio broadcasts so that Palestinians could get the information.

"Anyone found near [militant] organizations endangers themselves and their family members. For your safety, the [army] urges you to evacuate immediately to the expanded humanitarian area," one flier reads.

Israel's army said on the social media platform X that it would act with "extreme force" against Hamas terrorists and urged the population to immediately evacuate for their safety.

The proposed ceasefire agreement framework has been met with mixed reactions. Some analysts believe that an extended pause in fighting could provide an opportunity for a more permanent solution to the conflict, while others are skeptical that Hamas will adhere to the terms of the agreement. Only time will tell whether the ceasefire framework will hold, but it offers a glimmer of hope for an end to the violence that has plagued Gaza for so long.

Fox News' Lawrence Richard and Trey Yingst contributed to this report.