BREAKING: Hamas Accepts Ceasefire Proposal From Egypt And Qatar

On Monday, the terrorist group Hamas announced that they would accept the ceasefire proposal backed by Egypt and Qatar after extensive negotiations to attempt to halt the devastating war following the attack on Israel on October 7. The news comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swore to conclude the war with a final operation into the southern city of Rafah and after more than 100,000 civilians were ordered to leave the city.

According to the Associated Press, Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh made the announcement via a phone call to Qatar's prime minister and Egypt's intelligence chief. "The fighter brother Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of the Hamas movement, had a phone call with the Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani, and with the Egyptian Minister of Intelligence, Mr. Abbas Kamel, and informed them of the Hamas movement's approval of their proposal regarding the ceasefire agreement," a statement from the militant group reads.

Despite Hamas' acceptance of the deal, early reports from Israeli media indicate that the Israeli government will not accept the "one-sided," "softened" Egyptian ceasefire proposal. The ceasefire denial comes as the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) prepared for an upcoming ground offensive into Rafah to destroy the last of Hamas' fighters and retrieve the remaining hostages that have been in captivity since October 7. 

Despite the United States' best efforts to bring about a ceasefire deal between the two warring sides, the Monday announcement appears to confirm that Israel will be moving forward with the operation despite Hamas' attempts to accept the Egyptian-sponsored ceasefire deal. The deal accepted by Hamas was reportedly not on the table and is being used to attempt to cast Israel as the one denying a ceasefire agreement. Israeli negotiators reportedly hadn't seen the ceasefire agreement agreed to by Hamas until after the terrorist group announced it had accepted it.

This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.

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