The head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, informed Egypt and Qatar this Monday that the Islamist group has accepted his proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Hamas made the announcement in a brief statement in which it offered no further details, after the Israeli Army ordered around 100,000 Palestinians in eastern Rafah evacuate the town against a possible ground assault.

“Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas movement’s political bureau, held a call with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel and informed them of the Hamas movement’s approval of their proposal on a ceasefire agreement,” the Palestinian group said. At the moment the details of the proposal are not known, nor the position of the Israeli authorities.

Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip appeared to be at a standstill after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will refuse this Sunday to put an endtowara key demand of the Islamist group.

This morning, in fact, thousands of Palestinians in the southern town of Rafah received messages urging them to evacuate to the Khan Yunis area, raising alarms about the possibility that the Army will soon begin its announced ground invasion in southern Gaza.

The Islamist group warned Israeli forces on Monday that any military operation in Rafah “it won’t be a picnic”, and that the group’s armed wing, the al Qasam Brigades, are prepared to “defend our people.” Hamas also asked international organizations still operating in the enclave, and in particular the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), not to abandon it following Israeli evacuation orders.