Netanyahu says Israel will attack Rafah ‘with or without a deal’ with Hamas

AA / Jerusalem / Muhammed Sabry

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that his army would attack Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, despite reports of a possible ceasefire deal with Hamas.

“There is no doubt that we will stop the war before we achieve all its goals,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with the families of Israeli soldiers, a statement from his office quoted him as saying.

He added that the Israeli army will enter Rafah to destroy the Hamas battalions there, “with or without an agreement.”

According to him, the evacuation of civilians from Rafah has begun.

“We have started evacuating the population of Rafah. We will be there soon,” he added.

Rafah, home to more than 1.4 million displaced Palestinians, is the last area of ​​the Gaza Strip where Israel has not yet officially announced the entry of its troops to continue its offensive against the Palestinians.

Netanyahu’s remarks come amid reports of a new ceasefire proposal being discussed by Hamas and Israel to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

The new offer includes Israel’s willingness to discuss re-establishing lasting peace in Gaza after the initial release of prisoners on humanitarian grounds, two Israeli officials told the Axios news site.

Hamas is expected to give its response to the ceasefire proposal later this week.

Israel has been waging a deadly offensive against the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian movement Hamas on October 7, which killed nearly 1,200 people, according to Tel Aviv.

Since then, nearly 34,500 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 77,600 others have been injured amid widespread destruction and severe shortages of basic necessities.

More than six months after the start of Israel’s war, large parts of Gaza lie in ruins, forcing 85% of the enclave’s population to move inside the territory as part of a blockade aimed at food, drinking water and medicine, according to UN figures.

Israel was prosecuted before the International Court of Justice for the crime of genocide. The order issued in January ordered Tel Aviv to cease acts of a genocidal nature and take measures to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the civilian population of the Gaza Strip.

*Translated from English by Mourad Belhaj

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