Men, women and children danced in the streets of Rafah on Monday after Hamas said it had approved a ceasefire deal. There was little to celebrate. Hours later, Israel ordered 100,000 in the city to flee and protesters took to the streets in Israel warning that the government was endangering the lives of surviving hostages taken on 7 October. Shortly afterwards, Israeli forces took control of the Palestinian side of the crossing with Egypt – the key entry point for aid – and shut off supplies.
Hopes of a deal have been raised and dashed repeatedly. There are differing accounts of what precisely Hamas agreed to, including the timing of hostage releases and – most painfully – whether their figure includes the dead as well as the living. Continued fighting does not negate negotiations to end a conflict. But the end of the war is likely to mean the end of Benjamin Netanyahu’s prime ministership and polling suggests that while most Israelis prioritise a deal to release hostages over military action in Rafah, that is reversed among the rightwing voters on whom Mr Netanyahu’s future rests.
