Cease the Day?

“Hamas announced Monday it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari proposal for a cease-fire to halt the seven-month-long war with Israel in Gaza, hours after Israel ordered about 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating from the southern city of Rafah, signaling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent.” (Now, let’s see if Columbia U agrees to the truce.) This is the Middle East, so let’s take any good news with a pillar of salt. But these are the most positive ceasefire headlines we’ve seen since the war started. It’s worth noting that Hamas only budged when the threat on their leadership was imminent.

+ Israel says the deal Hamas agreed to was not the one that was negotiated. Here’s the latest from the Times of Israel and CNN.

+ The stakes, both human and geopolitical, are huge. Why Israel is so determined to launch an offensive in Rafah. And why so many oppose it.