What to know
- The Israeli military said its ground forces have seized control of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, closing a crucial entry point for humanitarian aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave.
- The move comes after Hamas announced it had accepted a cease-fire proposal following weeks of talks with Qatar and Egypt. Israel said that the deal was "far from" its requirements and that it would push ahead with a Rafah operation and send a delegation to the talks.
- The ground incursion is “a very limited” operation designed to achieve tactical military goals and put pressure on Hamas in talks, an Israeli official told NBC News. Israeli negotiators are heading to Cairo today to try to bridge gaps between the Israeli-approved proposal and the Hamas-approved proposal, the official said.
- Earlier, Israel told 100,000 people to evacuate eastern Rafah and head to what it said was an expanded humanitarian area. World leaders and aid groups have warned against a broader operation in the city, where more than 1 million people are sheltering.
U.S. halted shipment of weapons to Israel over concerns they would be used in Rafah
The White House last week halted a large shipment of offensive weapons to Israel over concerns that they would be used in Rafah, a senior administration official told NBC News tonight.
The official said the shipment included 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, and added that the administration is “especially focused” on ending the use of 2,000-pound bombs and the impact they have on dense urban areas in Gaza.
The official said the administration began reviewing potential shipments of particular weapons to Israel last month, as the Israeli government appeared to be nearing a decision on Rafah. The official said Israel still has not addressed U.S. concerns about a major military operation there.
The State Department is reviewing whether to halt certain other future shipments to Israel, according to the official. No decisions have been made, and no final decision has been made on how to proceed with the shipment that was blocked last week, according to the official.
Hamas official says there will be no deal if Israel continues aggression on Gaza
Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official speaking from Beirut, warned that Israel's continued aggression on Gaza will risk chances to secure a hostage release deal as the militant group meets with Israel's delegation in Cairo.
Hamdan asserted that the reaction yesterday from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders shows "that he does not care about the lives of his prisoners held by the resistance, who are threatened with death daily by their army missiles." He added that Hamas "dealt with the mediators’ proposal with great flexibility and made calculated concessions."
Netanyahu said today that Hamas announced its agreement on a deal yesterday knowing the framework it wanted was far from Israel's requirements for a deal. He said that the group tried to sabotage Israel's military actions in Rafah but that the country pushed forward regardless.
Hamdan warned that if Israel insists on moving forward with an escalated Rafah operation, it will “be no picnic” for the country.
U.S. expects Kerem Shalom crossing to reopen tomorrow
WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said today that the U.S. expects the Kerem Shalom crossing to be reopened to humanitarian aid for Gaza tomorrow.
The Rafah crossing with Egypt and the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel are critical entry points for food, medicine and other supplies for Gaza’s 2.3 million people. They have been closed for at least two days, although the smaller Erez crossing between Israel and northern Gaza continues to operate.
Kerem Shalom was closed after a Hamas mortar attack there killed soldiers. Israeli forces seized Rafah early this morning.
The U.N. warned of a potential collapse of the flow of aid to Palestinians from the closings of the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings at a time when officials say northern Gaza is experiencing “full-blown famine.”
Videos show Israeli tanks running over 'I Heart Gaza' sign in Rafah
Video circulating online shows a tank running over Gaza signage at the Rafah crossing when troops took over the Palestinian side of the border.
Another video shows a tank driving over a colorful "GAZA" sign that was placed in a flowerbed with two Palestinian flags flying on either side of it. The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the videos.
Though the source of the videos is not clear, NBC News was able to verify that they were recorded at the Rafah crossing through geolocation and cross-referencing videos of the Rafah crossing operation already released by the IDF.
The Times of Israel described the clips as “leaked” videos, noting that IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari has previously asked troops not to record and post their own photos or videos of military actions.
CIA's Burns headed to Israel to consult on negotiations in Cairo
CIA Director William Burns will go to Israel tomorrow to consult with officials on the latest round of talks in Cairo, a source familiar with the situation said.
Separately, according to a senior administration official, negotiators in Cairo from the U.S., Egypt and Qatar representing Hamas have been trying to resolve disagreements over phasing in a potential cease-fire, among other differences.
The source familiar with the situation said negotiators view the latest Hamas proposal as a unified offer from both the political and the military wings of the militant group. Asked about the chance of an agreement, the senior official said: “It’s positive that they’re still meeting, but it’s too soon to be optimistic. We need them to close their differences, but the differences are minor.”
Burns’ trip to Israel could signal an important step toward testing whether compromises are possible.
About the contentious issue of aid deliveries to Gaza, the senior official said the U.S. expects Netanyahu to reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing as soon as tomorrow, which Biden pressed him to do in a phone call yesterday.
The official said the U.S. also expects Israel to reopen the Rafah crossing, which is critical for deliveries of food, fuel, water and other supplies, as well as being a route for people needing to get out of Gaza for medical care and other emergencies.
State Department report on weapons to Israel won't be ready by deadline, officials say
The Biden administration will miss tomorrow's deadline to submit a highly anticipated report to Congress on whether Israel is using U.S. weapons in accordance with international law, multiple administration officials told NBC News.
The report is delayed by a few days or possibly into next week, the officials said.
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller told reporters this afternoon that a delay was possible.
“We are trying very hard to meet that deadline,” Miller said. “It’s possible it slips just a little bit, but we’re still, at this point, trying to get it done by tomorrow.”
The report is mandated under a National Security Memo signed by Biden in February that requires the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Defense to assess whether recipients of U.S. military assistance involved in active combat are using those weapons in line with international law.
The report will also evaluate whether countries including Israel “the recipient country will facilitate and not arbitrarily deny, restrict, or otherwise impede, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance and United States Government-supported international efforts to provide humanitarian assistance.”
If it is determined that any of those countries is not acting in accordance with international law, the Biden Administration has 45 days to recommend appropriate next steps to “remediate the situation,” including suspending any further transfer of U.S. military assistance.
As of late March, Miller, the State spokesperson, said the U.S. had “not found them to be in violation of international humanitarian law, either when it comes to the conduct of the war or when it comes to the provision of humanitarian assistance.”
Under the memo, the report must be provided to “the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and, upon request, other congressional national security committees as appropriate.”
Hostage families weigh hope for deal with concerns over Rafah
Relatives of Israeli hostages who remain held in Gaza expressed hope for a deal as Israel dispatched a delegation to talks in Cairo, but some felt their optimism tempered by concerns over the possible impact of the Israeli military's ground operations in Rafah.
"We must be optimistic," Rachel Goldberg-Polin said in a phone interview this afternoon. "We certainly think that in this moment, the right thing is that Israel is sending a delegation to Cairo because there is an opportunity here," said Goldberg-Polin, whose American Israeli son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, remains held in Gaza. But, she said, any deal will inevitably "require compromise on all sides."
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement that it had appealed to a number of countries to “exert your influence on the Israeli government” and push for an agreement.
Gil Dickmann, whose cousin Carmel Gat is also among the captives, said that he was skeptical of Hamas' announcement agreeing to a cease-fire proposal but that it was ultimately welcome news. "The fact is they want a deal — and the ball is in Israel's court," he said.
Dickmann, who was among thousands of people at a rally in Tel Aviv yesterday calling on the Israeli government to strike a deal with Hamas, said he had concerns that Israel's ground operations in Rafah might affect negotiations, as well as the hundreds of thousands of people who have been sheltering in the city. "I don't want to see innocent lives getting hurt on either side of the border," he said.
Gilad Korngold, whose son, Tal Shoham, 39, is also being held in Gaza after he was taken hostage from the Be'eri kibbutz, said he feared the ground operation might put those held captive at risk. He said those in favor of such an operation should recall the events that unfolded in Khan Younis in December, when Israeli forces mistakenly killed three hostages. "Don't make any operation that's going to risk our" loved ones, he said.
Udi Goren, the cousin of Tal Chaimi, 42, who was killed in Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks and whose body remains held in Gaza, said that the operation in Rafah was "worrisome" and that he wanted suffering to end for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Chaimi's wife was around two months pregnant when he was killed, and last week she delivered their child, whom Chaimi will never get to meet, Goren said. All his family wants now is to give their loved one a proper burial so Chaimi's newborn son and three other children will have a place to visit their father. Only then, he said, will the family "find some closure."
University of Chicago clears a pro-Palestinian demonstration as MIT confronts a new encampment
Police cleared a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at the University of Chicago today as tension ratcheted up in standoffs with demonstrators at other college campuses around the U.S. — and increasingly in Europe.
Nearly three weeks into a movement launched by a protest at Columbia University, the Rhode Island School of Design held talks with protesters occupying a building, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology dealt with a new encampment on a site that was cleared but immediately retaken by demonstrators.
At the University of Chicago, hundreds of protesters had gathered in an area known as the Quad for at least eight days.
Police in riot gear blocked access to the Quad early today as law enforcement dismantled the encampment. Officers picked up a barricade and moved it toward protesters, some of whom chanted: “Up, up with liberation. Down, down with occupation!” Police and protesters pushed back and forth along the barricade as the officers moved to re-establish control.
“The protesters were given an opportunity to disassemble their structures and depart the encampment, and there have been no arrests,” school President Paul Alivisatos said in a message to the university community. “Where appropriate, disciplinary action will proceed.”
Rafah's only large hospital 'out of operation,' mayor says
The only large-scale hospital in Rafah City is “out of operation," according to the mayor, Dr. Ahmed Al-Sufi.
Video from Gaza reporter Saleh Al-Jaafrawi offers a glimpse of what’s left inside Abu Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital after a complete evacuation.
The hospital, which, according to its Facebook page, served the 247,000 people of the Rafah Governate, now has empty beds, combed-through cabinets and leftover medical supplies.
Jordan says Israeli settlers attacked aid convoy in northern Gaza
Jordan said Israeli settlers attacked a humanitarian aid convoy on its way to Erez crossing in northern Gaza and “tampered with its contents” in the second such incident in less than a week.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sufyan Qudah said the convoy, which goes through the Israeli-occupied West Bank from Jordan, later managed to continue on its journey and reach its destination in war-devastated Gaza.
“Jordan holds Israel responsible for the attack by extremist settlers. ... It constitutes a breach of its legal obligations as an occupying power,” Qudah told Reuters.