By SAMY MAGDY, MELANIE LIDMAN and LEE KEATH (Associated Press)

CAIRO (AP) — An Israeli tank brigade seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and launched an incursion into the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife’s edge.

The U.N. warned of a potential collapse of the flow of aid to Palestinians from the closure of Rafah and the other main crossing into Gaza, Kerem Shalom, at a time when officials say northern Gaza is experiencing “full-blown famine.”

The Israeli foray overnight came after hours of whiplash in the now 7-month-old Israel-Hamas war, with Hamas saying Monday it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari mediated cease-fire proposal. Israel, however, insisted the deal did not meet its core demands. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

The high-stakes diplomatic moves and military brinkmanship left a glimmer of hope alive — if only barely — for a deal to bring at least a pause in the war, which has killed more than 34,700 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and has devastated the Gaza Strip.

By capturing Rafah, Israel gained full control over the entry and exit of people and goods for the first time since it withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005, though it has long maintained a blockade of the coastal enclave in cooperation with Egypt.

The incursion appeared to be short of the full-fledged offensive into Rafah that Israel has planned and might have been a pressure tactic in the cease-fire talks.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the capture of the crossing an “important step” toward dismantling Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would “deepen” the Rafah operation if the talks on the hostage deal failed.

Fighting forced the evacuation of the Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital, one of the main medical centers that has been receiving people wounded in airstrikes on Rafah in recent weeks. It was not immediately clear how many patients had been moved to other facilities.

The looming operation threatens to widen a rift between Israel and its main backer, the United States, which says it is concerned over the fate of around 1.3 million Palestinians crammed into Rafah, most of whom have fled fighting elsewhere.

U.S. President Joe Biden warned Netanyahu again Monday against launching an invasion of the city after Israel ordered 100,000 Palestinians to evacuate from parts of Rafah. But Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners have threatened to bring down his government if he calls off the offensive or makes too many concessions in cease-fire talks.

Palestinians’ cheers of joy over Hamas’ acceptance of the cease-fire turned to fear Tuesday. Families fled Rafah’s eastern neighborhoods on foot or in vehicles and donkey carts piled with mattresses and supplies. Children watched as parents disassembled tents in the sprawling camps that have filled Rafah for months to move to their next destination — which for many remained uncertain.

“Netanyahu only cares about coming out on top. He doesn’t care about children. I don’t think he’ll agree” to a deal, said Najwa al-Saksuk as her family packed up while Israeli strikes rang out amid plumes of black smoke.

Families of the hostages also saw their hope turn to despair. Rotem Cooper, whose 85-year-old father, Amiram, was among scores abducted during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, slammed what he said was the government’s inaction on a deal.

“We see all sorts of explanations — this isn’t the deal that we gave them, Hamas changed it without saying something,” Cooper said at a parliamentary hearing Tuesday. He questioned whether military pressure was an effective bargaining tactic.

Israel’s 401st Brigade took “operational control” of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing early Tuesday, the military said. Military footage showed Israeli flags flying from tanks in the area. It also said troops and airstrikes targeted suspected Hamas positions in Rafah.

The military claimed it had intelligence the crossing was “being used for terrorist purposes,” though it did not immediately provide evidence. It said Hamas fighters near the crossing launched a mortar attack that killed four Israeli troops near Kerem Shalom on Sunday and that more mortars and rockets were fired from the area on Tuesday.

Hamas said its fighters clashed with Israeli troops barricaded in a building in Rafah and that it fired rockets on a military facility close to Kerem Shalom.

The Rafah crossing with Egypt and the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel are critical points of entry for food, medicine and other supplies keeping Gaza’s population of 2.3 million alive. They have been closed for at least the past two days, though the smaller Erez crossing between Israel and northern Gaza continues to operate.

Israeli authorities denied the U.N. humanitarian affairs office access to the Rafah crossing Tuesday, said its spokesman, Jens Laerke, warning the disruption could break the fragile aid operation. All fuel for aid trucks and generators comes through Rafah, and Laerke said there was a “very, very short buffer of about one day of fuel.”

Israeli strikes and bombardment across Rafah overnight killed at least 23 Palestinians, including at least six women and five children, according to hospital records.

Mohamed Abu Amra said his wife, two brothers, sister and niece were killed when a strike flattened their home as they slept. “We did nothing. … We don’t have Hamas,” he said.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry condemned the seizure of the crossing, calling it “a dangerous escalation.”

Egypt has previously warned that any seizure of Rafah — which is supposed to be part of a demilitarized border zone — or an attack that forces Palestinians to flee over the border into Egypt would threaten the 1979 peace treaty with Israel that’s been a linchpin for regional security.

Netanyahu has said an offensive to take Rafah — which Israel says is Hamas’ last major stronghold in Gaza — is crucial to the goal of destroying Hamas after its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the war. In that unprecedented raid, Hamas and other terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 hostages back to Gaza.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to broker an agreement on a cease-fire and the release of the estimated 100 hostages and the remains of 30 others still held by Hamas, which insists it will not release them unless Israel ends the war and withdraws from Gaza.

Netanyahu and other top officials have publicly rejected those demands, saying they plan to resume the offensive after any hostage release and continue it until Hamas is destroyed. For now, the hostages serve as Hamas’ strongest bargaining chip and potential human shields for its leaders.

Israel said the cease-fire proposal that Hamas agreed to did not meet its “core demands.” But it said it would send a delegation to Egypt to continue negotiations. An Egyptian official said delegations from Hamas and Qatar arrived in Cairo on Tuesday.

An Egyptian official and a Western diplomat said the draft Hamas accepted had only minor changes in wording from a version the U.S. had earlier pushed for with Israeli approval. The changes were made in consultation with CIA chief William Burns, who embraced the draft before sending it to Hamas, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the deliberations.

The White House said Burns was discussing the Hamas response with the Israelis and other regional officials.

According to a copy released by Hamas, the proposal outlines a phased release of the hostages alongside the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from the entire enclave and ending with a “sustainable calm,” defined as a “permanent cessation of military and hostile operations.”

Lidman reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press journalists Ashraf Sweilam in el-Arish, Egypt, and Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.

DULUTH — The U.S. Forest Service is cracking down on how people store their food while camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, requiring very specific food hanging requirements or certified bear-proof lockers and threatening to impose stiff fines and even jail time on violators.

The rules now demand what had been longstanding advice from the Forest Service on keeping bears away from campers’ food.

The new rules, in effect from March 1 to Nov. 30 each year, require across the entire BWCAW that “except while being prepared, consumed, or under on-site visual observance, all food, food containers, scented items (such as soap, lip balm, toothpaste) and refuse shall be suspended at least 12 feet above the surface of the ground and not less than 6 feet horizontally from the trunk of a tree, or stored in an Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee certified bear resistant container.”

Similar rules have been imposed seasonally before in specific areas where bears had been an issue, but never before across the entire wilderness for entire seasons.

Officials said the rule is as much to protect bears as it is for humans.

“Once a bear is rewarded with human food or garbage, it is likely to become habituated and continue the behavior, which could ultimately lead to the bear being dispatched,’’ Cheron Ferland, Superior National Forest biologist, said in Monday’s announcement.

The rule states the order officially took effect on April 19, “and shall remain in effect until April 19th, 2026, or until rescinded, whichever occurs first.”

The rule notes that “any violation of this prohibition is punishable as a Class B misdemeanor by a fine of not more than $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for organizations, or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.”

The U.S. Forest Service is now mandating, and not just suggesting, how campers store their food packs on canoe trips into the BWCAW. (U.S. Forest Service via Forum News Service)

The new rules were unveiled Friday to outfitters and other businesses who work with the Superior National Forest on BWCAW issues, and were exchanged widely on social media over the weekend, but were not made available to the general public until late Monday.

Peter Marshall, communications director for the group Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, said the Forest Service has the right intention to prevent human/bear encounters but that “it’s the draconian nature of the order that is wrongheaded.”

Marshall called the rule “impractical” and notes that many seasoned veterans of BWCAW travel argue that hanging food is not the most effective way to deter bears. Marshall said keeping food sealed in plastic bags and 200 feet from tents often is enough to deter bears in the wilderness.

“Six months in jail, a $5,000 fine, or both, and a misdemeanor on your record?” Marshall said. “For what? Not for drunk driving, which carries a similar penalty, but for not using a certified bear container, or for hanging it 11 rather than 12 feet off the ground. This is extreme. Friends of the Boundary Waters, and many other groups, have worked hard to make the wilderness more inviting to diverse groups of people, to open it to people who never went to the Boundary Waters.

“Having this impractical order, that carries the very real threat of jail time or hefty fines, is a major setback,” Marshall said.

The Forest Service on Monday vowed to issue only warnings for violations of the new rule during the first season.

“Our goal initially is to highlight the importance of all of us doing our due diligence to keep wildlife from becoming habituated,” the agency noted in unveiling the rule. “Except for gross violations or repeated violations, we intend to issue warnings for the first year of the order. Fortunately, many BWCAW visitors are already practicing good food storage techniques. The concept isn’t new, we’re just approaching it as a season-long prevention effort, rather than reacting to incidents as they occur.”

Forest Service rangers have long warned BWCAW campers to make sure their food, cooking equipment, garbage — and anything that might smell like food to a bear — is secured on a rope high in the sky and far enough from trees to prevent bees from accessing it. Bears may also find anything with a strong or sweet odor attractive, such as toothpaste, lip balm, scented personal products, sunscreen and clothing with food odor. A bear can smell food wrappers inside a tent, forest officials note. A clean campsite is much less likely to catch the attention of bears in the area. Bears are excellent swimmers, so precautions must be taken on island sites as well.

Bear-proof lockers or containers have become more common in recent years, hardened containers that can be moved or even tossed around by bears, but they generally can’t gain access and give up trying. The National Park Service says nearly 500 products from more than 100 manufacturers are on the International Grizzly Bear Commission’s list of bear-resistant products. They generally range from $50 to $150.

Forest officials note that the blue barrels sometimes now used by BWCAW campers are not on the certified list and thus are not approved for BWCAW use.

Because 2023 was a banner year for natural bear forage across the Northland, it’s expected more bear sows will have more bear cubs, and those bear groups will be out searching for food this spring and all summer.

To avoid bears, the Forest Service urges BWCAW campers:

After each meal, the dishes should be washed immediately at least 200 feet away from the sleeping area and water source. Consider a small collapsible pail to help carry water. Keep camp stoves away from the tent area.
Toiletries, food and garbage should be placed in a certified bear-resistant container. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee has a certified list of products. “Blue barrels” have been proven not to be bear-resistant and are not on the certified list. Additionally, it is best to suspend the food container out of reach by hanging it from a high line between two trees or by using the one-tree method. The container should be located at least 12 feet above ground and at least 6 feet from the trees on either side. Protect the trees in the process with wide, flat straps.
If in a dispersed site or developed campground, it is best to store these items in a hard-sided vehicle.
Do not count on a cooler to protect your food unless it is on the IGBC Certified Bear Resistant Products List. Most coolers are not bear-resistant containers, but some can be modified for bear resistance. Bears can smell bottled beverages and food in plastic coolers from a few miles away.
Dispose of fish remains by traveling at least 200 feet away from campsites, trails, portages and shorelines.
Avoid leaving food unguarded at the canoe/boat landing or at the end of a portage. If it is not in a bear-resistant container, it is an easy target and can train a bear to frequent high-use areas.
Most bears will be scared off if you make noise. A very persistent bear may be discouraged by spraying pepper spray into its eyes.

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