Hamas fires rockets close to major aid checkpoint

Hamas fired several projectiles on Sunday toward the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza, resulting in a number of casualties.

The Israel Defense Forces said 10 projectiles were launched from Rafah, in southern Gaza, toward the crossing, which they have temporarily closed for aid trucks going into Gaza. At least ten people were injured in the attack, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The IDF said Hamas launched the projectiles approximately 350 meters from civilian shelters, and that the Israeli air force struck the launcher from which the projectiles were fired.

The Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza is the primary entry for humanitarian aid into the strip. Over the course of the war, the humanitarian situation has continued to deteriorate, and experts believe Gaza is on the brink of famine.

Israel has sought to allow more aid into Gaza in recent weeks, including by opening additional crossings for more aid. The United States has repeatedly pushed for Israel to do more to alleviate the humanitarian suffering of Palestinian civilians for months, but President Joe Biden, following an airstrike that killed seven aid workers, threatened to condition future U.S. aid to Israel if they did not get more aid into Gaza.

But, there are also concerns about ensuring the aid gets to civilians and is not diverted by Hamas or other terrorist entities.

“Yesterday was the first major shipment of aid from Jordan over this new land route through Erez crossing,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Thursday. “The convoys from the Jordan military that brought the aid in unloaded the aid inside Gaza. It was then picked up by a humanitarian implementer for distribution inside Gaza, and that aid was intercepted and diverted by Hamas on the ground in Gaza.”

“The U.N. is either in the process or has by now recovered that aid, but it was an unacceptable act by Hamas to divert this aid to begin with, to seize this aid. We have made clear that it’s an unacceptable act. I think the U.N. partners will be also making clear that it’s an unacceptable act,” he added.

More than a million Palestinians have fled to the southernmost Gaza city of Rafah throughout the course of the war. Israeli leaders intend to carry out full-scale military operations in Rafah to flush out the remaining Hamas battalions that they have said are among and below the civilian population in Rafah.

The U.S. does not support Israel’s intent to go into Rafah due to the concerns that there could be mass civilian casualties. The Biden administration has sought, in a series of meetings, to convince them that they can achieve their goals in Rafah without a ground invasion.

“We’ve been briefed on their latest thinking, but as we understand, it is not a finalized plan yet,” a U.S. official told the Washington Examiner on Friday. “Our position on a potential major ground invasion of Rafah remains the same, and we’ll continue to have these conversations with the Israelis.”

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The U.S. is hoping that Hamas will agree to the ceasefire deal on the table that would, at least temporarily, stop a Rafah invasion from happening. Hamas officials traveled to Cairo, Egypt, to discuss the offer.

Israel and Hamas have been unable to come to an agreement for months now due to each side’s various sticking points. One of the main aspects of a deal that hasn’t been overcome yet is Israel’s demand that the ceasefire be temporary, while Hamas wants an agreement to end the war entirely.