Hamas claims to agree to cease-fire, Israel says it's a deception tactic

Is a deal happening? A senior Hamas source told al-Jazeera this evening (Monday) that "we informed the Qatari and Egyptian mediators that we agree to their proposal for a ceasefire. Shortly afterwards, Hamas Political Leader Ismail Haniyeh confirmed their agreement with the conditions. Israel has not yet received confirmation of this.

Israel: "We don't take the statement seriously"

However, Israeli sources say that Hamas agreed to an Egyptian proposal unacceptable to Israel.

"We don't treat the Hamas statement seriously - this is a far-reaching proposal on core issues," they said. "The Egyptians made all the (proposal's) parameters more flexible so Hamas would agree. This was done in a one-sided manner, and this proposal is unacceptable to Israel." According to the sources, "This is deception by Hamas with the aim of presenting Israel as the one refusing a deal."

Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry stated that Minister Gallant met with Chief of Staff Hertzi Halevi and Operations Directorate head Maj.-Gen. Oded Basyuk to discuss the IDF's expected operational plans in the Gaza Strip, with an emphasis on the Rafah area.