An Israeli official said no ceasefire had been agreed in Gaza

An Israeli official said no ceasefire had been agreed in Gaza، after Hamas said it had accepted a proposal from Egyptian and Qatari mediators over the Israel-Gaza conflict.

The Israeli official said the proposal that Hamas had accepted was a “softened” version of an Egyptian proposal، which included “far-reaching” conclusions that Israel could not accept.

“This would appear to be a ruse intended to make Israel look like the side refusing a deal،” said the Israeli official، who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Earlier، Hamas said that its chief، Ismail Haniyeh، had informed Qatari and Egyptian mediators that the group accepted their ceasefire proposal. The statement gave no details of the accord.

There has been no successful agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza since a week-long pause in November.

The evacuation of parts of Rafah

The Hamas announcement of an agreement came hours after Israel ordered the evacuation of parts of Rafah، the city on Gaza’s southern edge that has served as the last sanctuary for around half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents

Hamas said it told Egyptian and Qatari negotiators that it has approved a cease-fire proposal to halt the war in Gaza، according to a press statement.

Negotiations intensified over the weekend، with facilitation from U.S. CIA Director William Burns، alongside mediators from Egypt and Qatar.

The negotiations came amid Israel’s ongoing threats to invade Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah، which appeared imminent if a temporary cease-fire agreement was not reached.

U.S. officials have repeatedly warned Israel against an offensive in Rafah، where millions of civilians have taken refuge.

Last week، the U.S. paused a shipment of weapons to Israel، including 2،000-pound bombs، as Israel continued to signal that a ground invasion of Rafah could be coming soon، two senior administration officials confirmed to NBC News.

On Monday، Israel ordered civilians in eastern Rafah to evacuate، adding to fears that Israel plans to invade the southern city.

NBC News previously reported that the deal would require Hamas to release 33 hostages in exchange for Israel agreeing to release Palestinian prisoners and pause military operations، which would ease the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.