Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned offensive against the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip will go ahead regardless of whether or not a hostage-taking agreement is reached with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, he said at a meeting on Tuesday.
“We will invade Rafah and eliminate the Hamas battalions there – with or without an agreement,” he told the relatives of Israeli hostages and fallen soldiers, according to his office.
Netanyahu is determined to launch an offensive in Rafah to crush Hamas’ remaining strongholds, although Israel’s allies have repeatedly urged caution as the vast majority of Gaza’s roughly 2.2 million residents have fled south during the war.
“The idea that we end the war before all its objectives are achieved is out of the question. We will invade Rafah and eliminate the Hamas battalions there – with or without a deal to achieve total victory,” Netanyahu said, as he faces calls at home to achieve his war goals despite pressure from abroad.
His comments come as indirect negotiations are underway in Cairo over a new ceasefire agreement and the release of more hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners. There were initially hopes that Israel would abandon the planned Rafah operation if an agreement could be reached.
According to a non-governmental organization working in the region, people in Rafah are very afraid and expect to be evacuated at any moment before a planned attack.
“Our colleagues tell us that the fear is extremely high,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military has not yet ordered people to leave the country, but people expect it at any moment, he said, adding that much depends on the ceasefire talks and the release of the hostages.
In Jerusalem on Tuesday, a suspected Turkish citizen was shot dead after stabbing an Israeli border police officer in the Old City. The police officer was injured, the Israeli police said after the incident.
According to the news site ynet, the man entered the country on Monday as a tourist from Jordan. An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said the report was being investigated.
