Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that a date has been set for an Israeli invasion of Rafah, Gaza’s last refuge for displaced Palestinians, without announcing the date as a new round of ceasefire takes place in Cairo.
‘Today I received a detailed report on the Cairo talks. “We are continuously working to achieve our goals, primarily the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
“This victory requires access to Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen, there is a date.’
The shock announcement came hours after reports suggested Hamas and Israel were just two days away from agreeing a ceasefire and hostage deal that would have at least temporarily ended the Middle East’s bloodiest war in decades .
Hamas and Israel sent negotiators to Cairo, Egypt, where they were joined by mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
“This victory requires access to Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen – there is a date,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) said today
Palestinian families return to their homes, left amid rubble and devastating destruction following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Khan Younis
Protesters light a fire on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street
Israeli soldiers organize their refueling equipment near the Gaza Strip border
Egypt’s state news channel Al-Qahera reported that “significant progress has been made on several controversial areas of agreement,” citing an unnamed senior Egyptian source.
The delegation said the Qatar and Hamas delegations had left Cairo and were expected to “return within two days to finalize the terms of the agreement.”
US and Israeli delegations would also leave the Egyptian capital “in the coming hours” for consultations over the next 48 hours, it added.
But negotiations have been shaky throughout the six-month war in Gaza, with both Hamas and Israel repeatedly withdrawing from the talks over differences.
Israel’s allies, including the US and Britain, have voiced their opposition to Israeli plans to invade Rafah, home to 1.4 million civilians seeking refugees from the bloody war against the enclave.
Reports suggested that Hamas and Israel were just two days away from reaching a ceasefire and hostage agreement that would have at least temporarily ended the Middle East’s bloodiest war in decades.
Israel’s main ally, the US, has said invading Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded a credible plan to protect civilians.
Palestinians walk through the destruction in the aftermath of an Israeli air and ground offensive in Khan Younis
Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron previously wrote about
“The priority must be an immediate pause in the fighting to get aid in and hostages out, and then make progress toward a lasting, permanent ceasefire.”
Israel’s main ally, the US, has said invading Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded a credible plan to protect civilians.
Israel is buying 40,000 tents in preparation for the Rafah evacuation, an Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
A woman cries on the rubble of a collapsed building after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Khan Younis, Gaza
Israel withdrew its ground forces from the southern Gaza Strip, six months after the devastating war sparked by the October 7 attacks
A person holds a handful of spent bullet casings over a larger pile in Khan Younis on April 7, 2024
Netanyahu’s announcement came as streams of Palestinians poured into the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis on Monday to salvage what they could from the massive destruction left in the aftermath of Israel’s offensive, a day after the Israeli army announced it was would withdraw troops from the area.
Allowing people to return to Khan Younis could ease pressure on Rafah, but many have no home to return to. The city is also likely filled with dangerous, unexploded ordnance left behind by the fighting.
The Israeli army quietly withdrew troops from the devastated northern Gaza earlier in the war.
But the country has continued to carry out airstrikes and attacks in areas where Hamas says it has regrouped, including Gaza’s largest hospital, Shifa, leaving what the head of the World Health Organization called “an empty shell.”
Israel blames Hamas for the damage and says it is fighting from civilian areas.