JERUSALEM: Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu promised on Tuesday to begin a ground offensive on Rafah, “with or without” a truce agreement being reached, despite serious reservations expressed by Washington, the country’s primary ally.
According to the Israeli PM’s office, he declared, “With or without a deal, we will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there.”
The remarks coincide with reports that Hamas is considering the most recent proposal for a cease-fire in Cairo during negotiations with mediators from the US, Egypt, and Qatar.
In response, UN chief Antonio Guterres stated that a military attack on Rafah would be an intolerable escalation of events.
“Many other states and all members of the Security Council have made it apparent that they oppose such an operation. “I urge everyone who possesses power over Israel to take all necessary measures to avert it,” he declared.
Since Israel began its invasion of Gaza, nearly 1.5 million Palestinians have fled the bombing that has devastated the region, seeking safety in Rafah.
According to Hamas, plans for a 40-day ceasefire and the exchange of several Israeli inmates for a greater number of Palestinian detainees were under consideration.
A source stated that Hamas would “discuss the ideas and the proposal” after their envoys from Cairo returned to their base in Qatar, and that “we are keen to respond as quickly as possible.”
The Hamas negotiators were supposed to “return with a written response,” according to an earlier report from the Egyptian Al-Qahera News website.
A “critical moment in making sure that everything that needs to be done is being done” is when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for the redoubling of humanitarian efforts. Blinken landed in Jordan on Wednesday from Saudi Arabia and was on his way to Israel for talks with Netanyahu and other officials.
The bombardment goes on
While diplomatic talks were underway, Israel continued to strike Gaza, leveling large areas of the territory. According to the health ministry, Israel’s offensive has killed at least 34,535 Palestinians in Gaza, the majority of them were women and children.
Israel claimed that “fighter jets struck a number of terror targets in central Gaza,” while an AFP correspondent reported airstrikes on Gaza City, Khan Yunis, and Rafah.
As youngsters were being retrieved from the wreckage, Palestinians in Rafah were in mourning for the most recent dead.
Bereaved family members crowded around the deceased at Al-Najjar hospital, their bodies covered in white shrouds.
