Israel closed its main crossing point for delivering badly needed humanitarian aid for Gaza on Sunday, May 5, after Hamas militants attacked it, while the defense minister claimed Hamas wasn’t serious about a ceasefire deal and warned of “a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah and other places across all of Gaza.”

Both struck blows to ongoing ceasefire efforts in Cairo mediated by Egypt and Qatar after reported signs of progress. Israel hasn’t sent a delegation, unlike Hamas, and defense minister Yoav Gallant said that “we see signs that Hamas does not intend to go to any agreement.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from hard-liners in his government, continued to lower expectations for a ceasefire deal, calling the Hamas demands “extreme” – including the withdrawal of Israel forces from Gaza and an end to the war. That would equal surrender after the Hamas attack on October 7 that triggered the fighting, Netanyahu said.

In a separate statement, Hamas insisted it maintained a “positive and responsible approach” toward the negotiations and said it was determined to reach an agreement. The statement mentioned that Hamas’s key demands include “a complete end” to the fighting, Israeli withdrawal “from the entire Gaza Strip, the facilitation of the return of displaced people, the intensification of relief efforts, the start of reconstruction and the conclusion of a prisoner exchange deal.”

But Israel’s government again vowed to press on with a military operation in Rafah, the southernmost Gaza city on the border with Egypt where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents now seek shelter from Israeli attacks. Rafah is a key entry point for aid.

Kerem Shalom, now closed, is another. The Israeli military reported 10 projectiles were launched at the crossing in southern Israel and said its fighter jets later struck the source. Hamas said it had been targeting Israeli soldiers in the area. Israel’s Channel 12 TV channel said 10 people were wounded, three seriously. It was unclear how long the crossing would be closed.

The attack came shortly after the head of the UN World Food Program asserted “full-blown famine” in devastated northern Gaza, one of the most prominent warnings yet of the toll of restrictions on food and other aid entering the territory. The comments were not a formal famine declaration.

Gaza’s vast humanitarian needs put further pressure on the cease-ire talks. The proposal that Egyptian mediators had put to Hamas sets out a three-stage process that would bring an immediate, six-week ceasefire and partial release of Israeli hostages taken in the October 7 attack, and would include some sort of Israeli pullout. The initial stage would last for 40 days. Hamas would start by releasing female civilian hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.