The Israeli army must carry out its operation in the town of Rafah, where around 1.4 million Palestinians are crowded in southern Gaza, otherwise it will “lose the war” against Hamas, Prime Minister Declared on Saturday evening. Israeli Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel will carry out its operation in Rafah even if it reaches an agreement with Hamas on hostages
After offensives in the city of Gaza, then in that of Khan Younes, Israel is preparing to enter Rafah, the last major city in the Gaza Strip, which raises serious fears for the fate of the civilian population there, in vast majority of Palestinians displaced by the fighting in the rest of the territory. US President Joe Biden, whose country is Israel’s primary supporter, recalled on Friday that an operation in Rafah “should not take place without a credible plan” to protect civilians. French President Emmanuel Macron warned that an operation in Rafah would lead to “an unprecedented humanitarian disaster”.
“Anyone who wants to stop us from carrying out an operation in Rafah is basically telling us to lose the war. I am not going to give in to that,” Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference in Jerusalem. He also affirmed that the Israeli army would carry out its operation in Rafah even if there was an agreement with the Palestinian Islamist movement for the release of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip. Complex negotiations about a truce in the fighting, the release of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners imprisoned by Israel, are continuing through the mediating countries, Egypt, Qatar and the United States.
Hamas insists on a “total ceasefire” and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. Benjamin Netanyahu refuses these demands at this stage, citing a possible pause in the fighting accompanied by the release of the hostages, but not the end of hostilities. “Even if we reach an agreement on the hostages, we will enter Rafah,” he said Saturday evening in Jerusalem. In Tel Aviv, thousands of Israelis demonstrated against the Netanyahu government, urging them to reach an agreement with Hamas in order to free the hostages, according to an AFP journalist on site. “The hostages have been in Gaza for more than 100 days”, if they die, “the government will have their blood on its hands”, protesters chanted.
A truce agreement in November allowed the release of 105 hostages out of some 250 kidnapped by Hamas during its unprecedented attack on Israeli territory on October 7. According to Israel, 130 hostages are still being held in Gaza, of whom 30 are believed to have died.