The spontaneous celebrations on the streets of Gaza didn't last long on Monday night.

Shortly after Hamas had announced that it had accepted a cease-fire deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar, heavy explosions were reported in the eastern part of Rafah, where the Israeli army had ordered people to evacuate immediately on Monday morning.

Late on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Office said that the cease-fire proposal fell short of Israel's demands and that the war cabinet had agreed to continue the operation in Rafah.

Officials suggested that Hamas, designated as a terrorist group by the US, the EU and others, had agreed to a different proposal to the one Israel had negotiated. Nevertheless, Israeli officials said they would send a delegation to continue talks with the mediators.

On Tuesday morning, a military official confirmed that Israeli troops had launched what they described as a targeted operation in certain areas of eastern Rafah and were controlling the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.

The gateway to Egypt remains the only option for Palestinians to leave the territory and is one of the main crossings for aid to enter Gaza. It remained closed, as well as the Kerem Shalom crossing, where a mortar attack by Hamas had killed four Israeli soldiers on Sunday.

The fast-moving developments left many in Rafah confused and fearful. Ghada Rafiq, 30, whose family was heading to Khan Younis, hoped that an........

© Deutsche Welle