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Palestinians celebrated after Hamas said it would accept an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal to halt war with Israel. But Israel later approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah and officials say Israeli forces are striking targets in the area.

538 Senior Elections Analyst Geoffrey Skelley breaks down which issues are most important to America’s youth.

Hamas announced they have accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but it's not the same deal Israel had proposed.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said on Monday that Israel will continue its operations in Gaza for now. (May 6, 2024)

STORY: Israel’s military carried out airstrikes in Rafah on Monday (May 6), residents said, hours after Israel told Palestinians to evacuate parts of the southern Gaza city where more than a million people have been sheltering. Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV said Israel had targeted areas in eastern Rafah near neighborhoods given evacuation orders. This follows an overnight aerial attack on Rafah, where Israeli planes hit 10 houses, killing at least 20 people and wounding several, medical officials said. The Israeli military said it had attacked the site of Sunday's (May 5) mortar launch that killed four Israeli soldiers... and that it was conducting limited operations on the eastern part of Rafah in response to that mortar strike. Palestinian families began fleeing to what the Israeli military called an ‘expanded humanitarian zone’ 12 miles away, instructed by Arabic text messages, phone calls, and flyers. Abu Ahmed is a displaced Palestinian: "The Israeli occupation told people to go to Rafah and that it is a safe area. Today, they're telling us to get out of Rafah. Where will the people go? Where will all these crowds go? 1.5 million, or 2 million civilians, where will they go?" Israel's military said it had urged residents of Rafah to evacuate in a "limited scope" operation. It gave no specific reasons nor did it say if offensive action might follow. A senior Hamas official said the evacuation order was a "dangerous escalation" that would have consequences. Fears grow of a full-blown assault in Rafah, that has been long threatened by Israel against holdouts it says harbor thousands of Hamas fighters and potentially dozens of hostages. The war began after Hamas' cross-border raid on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and 252 hostages taken, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's assault has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians and wounded 78,000, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Hamas said it had agreed to a cease-fire proposal, prompting celebrations on both sides, but Israel said the deal was not the one it had put forth and was studying the parameters.

The proposal that Hamas accepted is not the same one as had been under discussion, according to an Israeli official, adding that the proposal will now be studied.

Severe storms bring deadly flooding to Texas, with dangerous tornadoes in the forecast tofday. Also, Israel warns civilians to get out of Rafah after a setback in cease-fire and hostage talks with Hamas. All that and all that matters in today's Eye Opener.

STORY: Israel's military said on Monday it had begun encouraging residents of Rafah to evacuate the southern Gazan city as part of a 'limited scope' operation, but did not immediately confirm media reports this was part of preparation for a ground assault. Seven months into its offensive against Hamas, Israel has said Rafah harbors thousands of the Palestinian Islamist group’s fighters and that victory is impossible without taking the city. But with more than a million displaced Palestinians sheltering there, the prospect of a high-casualty operation worries Western powers and neighboring Egypt.

Israeli military officials are urging Palestinians to evacuate Rafah in Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive.

Protests over the Israel-Hamas war continued on college campuses over the weekend, with some demonstrations spilling over into commencement ceremonies. Shanelle Kaul reports.

STORY: "Eighty years ago, in the Holocaust, the Jewish people were totally defenseless against those who sought our destruction," Netanyahu said in English remarks that linked the World War Two atrocities to the current conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. "We will defeat our genocidal enemies," he said. "'Never again' is now." Netanyahu made the speech during Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, in Jerusalem. This year's ceremony takes place as the war in Gaza rages on, and recently triggering pro-Palestinian protests in several U.S. campuses. The war began after Hamas stunned Israel with a cross-border raid on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and 252 hostages taken, according to Israeli tallies. More than 34,600 Palestinians have been killed, 29 of them in the past 24 hours, and more than 77,000 have been wounded in Israel's assault, according to Gaza's health ministry. The bombardment has devastated much of the coastal enclave and caused a humanitarian crisis. Prospects for a ceasefire appeared slim on Sunday as Hamas reiterated its demand for an end to the war in exchange for the freeing of hostages, and Netanyahu flatly ruled that out. The annual Holocaust commemorations remember the six million Jews killed by the Nazis during the Second World War. On Monday (May 6) Israel will come to a standstill as a two-minute siren will be heard across the country.

Israel's defense minister signaled an operation in Rafah will begin soon. The Israeli military says projectiles were fired by Hamas at the area near Rafah where aid was being allowed to enter Gaza.

STORY: Video obtained by Reuters shows the rubble following what Palestinians said was an Israeli airstrike in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. And it comes amid what seem to be dwindling prospects for ceasefire talks in Cairo. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday flat-out rejected what he said were Hamas's demands for a potential truce. Netanyahu said the Palestinian Islamist group wanted the removal of all Israeli forces from Gaza, and a permanent end to the fighting, which would leave Hamas in power. He said, "the State of Israel cannot accept that." Hamas meanwhile, blamed Israel for the impasse. In a statement, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh accused Netanyahu of "sabotaging efforts made through the mediators." A Palestinian official close to the mediation effort told Reuters on Sunday: "If Netanyahu doesn't change his mind, there will be no reason to stay." And the fighting continues: Israel soldiers at the Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel inspected armored vehicles after Hamas claimed it had attacked the position on Sunday. Earlier in the day trucks carrying desperately-needed humanitarian aid passed through the crossing. But following the attack, Israel said the crossing had been closed. The war began after Hamas stunned Israel with a cross-border raid on Oct. 7 in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and over 250 hostages taken. More than 34,600 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's subsequent assault, according to Gaza's health ministry. The bombardment has devastated much of the coastal enclave and caused a humanitarian crisis. Israel has been warning for months it plans to send troops into Rafah, the southern city bordering Egypt where more than a million displaced Gaza residents have taken refuge. Israel believes thousands of Hamas fighters are holed up in the city, along with potentially dozens of hostages. The United Nations on Friday warned such an operation would potentially put thousands more lives at risk. The Israeli military on Sunday released video of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meeting commanders in Gaza. Gallant said there were signs Hamas did not intend to reach an agreement. He said, "this means strong military action in Rafah will begin in the very near future, and in the rest of the Strip. But the deadlock in Cairo continues to turn up the heat on Netanyahu. Thousands of Israelis protested on Saturday, demanding the prime minister accept a ceasefire agreement with Hamas that would see the remaining hostages brought home.