Live Updates: Israeli Tanks Enter Rafah and Take Control of Border Crossing

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing unit to hold to a cease-fire with Hamas that is backed by the United States and Arab nations and that would unafraid the merchandise of hostages inactive being held successful Gaza. His authorities said that it would nonstop negotiators to Cairo connected Tuesday.

The Egyptian state-owned tv transmission Al Qahera reported that sporadic warring could beryllium heard astir the Rafah crossing and that humanitarian assistance done it had stopped. United Nations officials said that Israeli troops had present “choked off” some the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings, the 2 main routes for getting assistance into Gaza, and warned that the humanitarian situation successful the enclave would worsen.

The Israeli subject called Tuesday’s incursion “a precise precise” counterterrorism cognition and declined to accidental however agelong it planned to enactment successful Rafah. Troops recovered 3 passageway shafts successful the country adjacent the crossing, and astir 20 militants were killed during the operation, it said successful a statement, without offering evidence. Israel has agelong viewed Gaza’s borderline with Egypt arsenic a main way for smuggling arms into the coastal enclave.

Here’s what other to know:

• The incursion connected Tuesday and airstrikes the time earlier are an escalation successful the warring aft Israel withdrew astir of its forces from the Gaza Strip successful April. Israel’s run has forced astir each of Gaza’s colonisation to fly their homes. More than a cardinal person gone to Rafah, wherever ample numbers of radical person been surviving successful squalid structure camps. On Monday, Israel told much than 100,000 Gazans successful eastbound Rafah to flee up of airstrikes; it was not instantly wide however galore were capable to leave.

• On Monday evening, António Guterres, the U.N. caput general, said again that “a crushed penetration successful Rafah would beryllium intolerable due to the fact that of its devastating humanitarian consequences and due to the fact that of its destabilizing interaction successful the region.”

• An penetration of Rafah has been a constituent of hostility for Mr. Netanyahu and his closest planetary allies. The United States has warned him not to motorboat an penetration without a credible program to support Rafah’s population. President Biden spoke by telephone with Mr. Netanyahu connected Monday and again urged against an offensive.

• Ground and aerial forces were besides operating overnight successful a vicinity of eastbound Rafah adjacent the borderline crossing, the subject said. It did not specify the determination of the passageway shafts oregon wherever the fighters had been killed.

Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting.

The Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s equipped wing, said it had fired connected gatherings of soldiers successful the borderline portion betwixt Israel and Gaza.

The 2 officials said the effect from Hamas was a superior one, and that it was present up to Israel to determine whether to participate into an agreement. The proposal, they said, calls for Hamas to escaped hostages — women, the aged and those successful request of aesculapian attraction — successful instrumentality for a 42-day cease-fire and the merchandise of a overmuch larger fig of Palestinian prisoners. Israel had sought 33 hostages, but it is not wide however galore women and aged are inactive alive, and the archetypal tranche could extremity up including remains.

That would beryllium the archetypal of 3 phases of reciprocal actions from each side. In the 2nd phase, the 2 sides would enactment toward reaching a “sustainable calm,” which would impact the merchandise of much hostages, the officials said. Both officials acknowledged that the warring parties would apt clash implicit the explanation of “sustainable calm.”

One of the officials, successful the Middle East, said that Hamas viewed the word arsenic an extremity to the war, with Israel halting its subject actions and withdrawing troops from Gaza. The officials said that Israel’s premier minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was expected to propulsion backmost against that definition.

One authoritative said that the negotiating parties agreed to the word “sustainable calm” weeks ago, aft Israel objected to immoderate notation to a “permanent cease-fire.” Israeli officials person consistently said they reason immoderate statement that explicitly calls for that oregon for an extremity to the war.

Mr. Burns has been the main typical for the United States successful the negotiations, and helium is successful the portion to enactment connected the proposals and counterproposals. Qatari and Egyptian mediators spoke with him connected Monday astir the changes that Hamas was acceptable to accept, the 2 officials said. Hamas said that Arab mediators had enactment guardant the changes, but 1 authoritative said that Hamas had suggested them. Mr. Burns is expected to be the talks successful Cairo connected Tuesday.

The Israeli premier minister’s bureau said that portion the caller connection failed to conscionable Israel’s demands, the state would inactive nonstop a working-level delegation to talks successful hopes of reaching an acceptable deal. A U.S. authoritative said the intent of the talks successful Cairo was to negociate the amendments projected by Hamas and speech done remaining issues.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said that a Qatari delegation would besides be the talks connected Tuesday, and expressed “hope that the talks volition culminate successful reaching an statement for an contiguous and permanent” cease-fire, an speech of hostages and prisoners, and a “sustainable” travel of assistance into each of Gaza.

Israel announced connected Monday that its warfare furniture had voted unanimously to proceed with its subject enactment successful Rafah successful bid to exert unit connected Hamas. That announcement and the commencement of immoderate violative successful the metropolis could jeopardize the prospects for an agreement. Mr. Netanyahu said past week that helium would transportation retired an violative successful Rafah “with oregon without” an agreement.

U.S. officials accidental they reason immoderate specified cognition without a due program from Israel to mitigate civilian casualties and a humanitarian crisis. One U.S. authoritative said the strikes that the Israeli subject carried retired successful eastbound Rafah connected Monday appeared to beryllium portion of a smaller operation, and not needfully the opening moves of a larger assault. More than 1 cardinal Palestinians person sought structure successful Rafah arsenic they fled different parts of Gaza nether onslaught by Israel.

Adam Rasgon contributed reporting from Jerusalem.

Here is simply a look astatine the caller dizzying crook of events.

Monday, April 29

Israeli officials, offering a hint of hope for a deal, said that their negotiators had reduced the fig of hostages they wanted Hamas to merchandise during the archetypal signifier of a truce.

Thursday, May 2

A Hamas person said that the radical would soon send a delegation to Cairo to “complete ongoing discussions” connected a cease-fire deal.

Saturday, May 4

With talks underway, a elder Hamas authoritative said successful a substance message that the group’s representatives had arrived successful Cairo for the talks, “with large positivity” toward the latest proposal.

Sunday, May 5

The talks — which are held indirectly, done mediators — hit an impasse, and Hamas said its delegation had near Cairo. An Israeli authoritative described the negotiations arsenic successful “crisis.”

Late successful the day, Hamas launched rockets astatine a borderline crossing betwixt Gaza and Israel, sidesplitting 4 Israeli soldiers. Israel stepped up its attacks successful Gaza.

Monday, May 6

Hamas said it accepted the presumption of a cease-fire — not arsenic laid retired successful Israel’s proposal, but drawn from 1 enactment distant by Egypt and Qatar.

The timing appeared noteworthy. The announcement was made aft Israel had ordered radical to evacuate from immoderate areas successful Rafah, a motion that Israeli forces mightiness beryllium adjacent to launching a long-anticipated penetration of the refugee-packed city. Late successful the day, the Israeli subject said it was carrying retired “targeted strikes” connected successful eastbound Rafah.

The strikes whitethorn beryllium to beryllium an effort to crook up the unit connected Hamas negotiators. Late successful the day, successful keeping with a week of contradictory signals, the Israeli premier minister’s bureau said that Hamas’s latest cease-fire connection was unsatisfactory.

Then it said would nonstop a working-level delegation backmost to the talks successful Cairo anyway.

But analysts accidental it would besides beryllium a indispensable measurement toward the full triumph implicit Hamas that Mr. Netanyahu has pledged — nevertheless elusive that whitethorn beryllium — and would mollify the hard-liners successful the authorities conjugation that keeps him successful power.

Critics had accused Mr. Netanyahu of scuttling the latest circular of hostage talks, which appeared to person stalled implicit the weekend. The 2 sides were chiefly stuck implicit Hamas’s request that Israel perpetrate to a imperishable cease-fire arsenic portion of immoderate deal, according to Israeli and Hamas officials, and implicit Mr. Netanyahu’s insistence connected a Rafah penetration and willingness to perpetrate to lone a impermanent intermission successful the seven-month war.

Negotiators were hoping to marque immoderate advancement by allowing for a grade of ambiguity, astatine slightest successful the aboriginal stages of a phased deal. But Mr. Netanyahu made it patently wide implicit the weekend, successful a bid of statements, that helium was not consenting to springiness up connected Rafah oregon perpetrate to an extremity to the war, and connected Monday, erstwhile Hamas said it would hold to a program acceptable retired by Egypt and Qatar, Israeli forces stepped up their strikes connected the city.

One Israeli official, who spoke connected the information of anonymity, said connected Sunday that Mr. Netanyahu’s statements astir Rafah and the continuation of the warfare had compelled Hamas to harden its demands. At the aforesaid time, a Hamas rocket onslaught launched from adjacent the Rafah crossing betwixt Gaza and Egypt connected Sunday, which killed 4 soldiers successful Israel, showed that Hamas was inactive susceptible of mounting damaging attacks from its past redoubt.

Pushing backmost against the accusations, Mr. Netanyahu’s bureau issued a connection connected Monday calling the claims that he, and not Hamas, had torpedoed the woody “an implicit prevarication and willful deception of the public.”

On the contrary, the connection said, Hamas had not “moved a millimeter from its utmost demands, which nary Israeli authorities could accept.”

By Monday evening, erstwhile Hamas announced that determination was a truce program it could hold to, Israeli analysts were crediting the military’s moves successful Rafah with having pressured Hamas into seeking a deal.

But the meaning of going into Rafah is besides unfastened to interpretation. The Israeli subject portrayed Monday’s telephone for a “temporary” evacuation of eastbound Rafah arsenic “limited successful scope,” suggesting that it is not a precursor to an imminent penetration of the full city.

That raised questions astir Israel’s quality to destruct the past 4 Hamas battalions that it says are successful Rafah and indispensable beryllium defeated.

Alon Pinkas, a erstwhile Israeli consul-general successful New York, said of Mr. Netanyahu aft 7 months of war: “He’s retired of options.”

“We are not going to spot Hamas rise a achromatic flag,” Mr. Pinkas said. Yet Mr. Netanyahu, helium added, “has turned Rafah into immoderate benignant of Stalingrad.”

Adam Rasgon contributed reporting.

As Israeli forces carried retired strikes successful eastbound Rafah, the premier minister’s bureau said that the warfare furniture had decided unanimously that Israel would proceed with its subject actions successful the metropolis to exert unit connected Hamas. The decision, the bureau said, sought to beforehand each of Israel’s warfare aims, including freeing hostages.

Khalil al-Hayya, a elder Hamas official, said successful an interrogation with Al Jazeera that the connection Hamas was consenting to judge included 3 phases, of 42 days each, and stressed that its main extremity was a imperishable cease-fire.

Ismail Haniyeh, the caput of Hamas’s governmental wing, archetypal described Hamas’s caller presumption successful a station connected the group’s Telegram transmission astatine 7:36 p.m. successful Israel. His connection came hours aft Israel had ordered radical successful portion of Rafah, the southernmost metropolis successful Gaza, to evacuate earlier a promised violative there, and a time aft Hamas fired rockets adjacent the Kerem Shalom crossing successful the borderline portion betwixt Israel and confederate Gaza, sidesplitting 4 soldiers.

Mr. Haniyeh said helium had told the Qatari premier curate and the main of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service that Hamas had accepted “their proposal.” There was nary contiguous remark from Egypt.

Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesman, confirmed that Hamas had “issued a response” and that the United States was reviewing it with partners successful the region.

Hamas negotiators had near Cairo connected Sunday aft talks deed an impasse and they failed to scope an statement with mediators connected Israel’s astir caller offer.

The main stumbling artifact successful the indirect negotiations mediated by Qatar and Egypt has been the magnitude of the cease-fire. Hamas has demanded a imperishable cease-fire, which would successful effect extremity the seven-month war, portion Israel wants a impermanent halt successful warring that would let for the speech of hostages held successful Gaza for Palestinian prisoners.

Mr. al-Hayya, who has been starring Hamas delegations astatine in-person talks successful Cairo, said the caller connection besides included a implicit Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the instrumentality of displaced radical to their homes and a “real and serious” swap of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

In its astir caller proposal, Israel made immoderate concessions, including agreeing to the instrumentality of displaced Palestinians to bluish Gaza and reducing the fig of hostages it would judge being freed successful the archetypal signifier of an agreement.

The Israeli military’s main spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said astatine a quality briefing connected Monday evening: “We analyse each effect and reply successful a precise superior matter, and maximize each accidental successful the negotiations to unafraid the merchandise of the hostages arsenic a halfway mission.” But helium said that astatine the aforesaid time, Israeli forces would “continue operating” successful Gaza.

The Israeli subject ordered the evacuation of implicit 100,000 Palestinians from parts of Rafah connected Monday morning. Israeli leaders person vowed for months to invade the metropolis successful bid to basal retired Hamas forces there, prompting planetary interest for the information of the 1.4 cardinal radical sheltering there.

Michael Crowley and Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting.