Negotiate or attack: In Rafah, Israel’s options conflict in real time
The Israel-Hamas war and the lives of Israeli hostages and 2 million Palestinians in Gaza were in a state of whiplash Tuesday.
Back-and-forth diplomatic and military brinkmanship by Israel and Hamas teetered the conflict between a cease-fire and an all-out Israeli offensive in Rafah – the trend lines seemingly changing by the hour – which closely paralleled the acute dilemma that Israelis face over their priorities as the war concludes its seventh full month.
In response to a surprise announcement by Hamas late Monday that it had agreed to a cease-fire deal – only to reveal that some key wording had changed from a draft Israel agreed to – Israel sent midlevel negotiators to Cairo Tuesday to further discuss the counterproposal.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the latest draft was “far from Israel’s essential demands” and that he had instructed Israeli negotiators to “hold firm” in talks over the counterproposal, of which the United
