Israeli PM Netanyahu says Israeli forces will enter the southern Gaza city \u2018with or without a deal\u2019
\nRafah
\nPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has renewed his promise that Israel will launch a ground assault on Rafah in southern Gaza amid shaky ongoing truce talks to reach a ceasefire deal.
\nNetanyahu on Tuesday said Israel will destroy Hamas\u2019 battalions there \u201cwith or without a deal\u201d to achieve \u201ctotal victory\u201d in the nearly seven-month war.
\nIsrael and Hamas are negotiating a potential ceasefire agreement and an exchange of hostages held by Palestinian groups in Gaza for prisoners held in Israeli jails.
\n\u201cThe idea that we will stop the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate Hamas\u2019 battalions there \u2013 with or without a deal, to achieve the total victory,\u201d the prime minister said in a meeting with families of hostages held by armed groups in Gaza.
\nHamas has repeatedly said it will not accept a deal that does not include a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza \u2013 which have been major sticking points in negotiations.
\nNetanyahu has for months repeatedly pledged to go ahead with an invasion of Rafah, despite public pushback from Israel\u2019s main ally the US.
\nAid agencies have warned that an assault of Rafah, where more than one million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, would be catastrophic.
\nThe Israeli war on Gaza war followed the unprecedented October 7 Hamas-led raid into southern Israel in which at least 1,139 people, mostly civilians, were killed, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics, and about 250 others were seized as captives. Israel has said the fighters are still holding approximately 100 captives and the remains of more than 30 others.
\nIsrael\u2019s war on Gaza has killed more than 34,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities. The war has driven approximately 80 percent of Gaza\u2019s population of 2.3 million from their homes, mostly to southern Gaza, and caused vast destruction in several towns and cities, while pushing the north to the brink of famine.
\nLooming assault
\nIsrael\u2019s army radio said a plan to attack Rafah will get the go-ahead \u201cin the coming days\u201d if there is no ceasefire deal with Hamas.
\nIsrael\u2019s GLZ Radio attributing information to \u201csecurity officials\u201d, said in a social media post \u201cthe order will be given to launch an operation in Rafah\u201d if progress is not made within days on \u201cnegotiations for a deal\u201d.
\nIsraeli media outlet N12 in a post on X reported that, according to hostage families, Netanyahu told them the evacuation of the population in Rafah has already begun.
\nHowever, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on Tuesday that \u201cpeople have not yet been asked to evacuate from Rafah\u201d.
\n\u201cBut there is a sense that if there is not a ceasefire deal this week, it could happen at any time,\u201d he said during a news briefing in Geneva.
\nThe Reuters news agency reported that \u201ca person close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u201d said Israel is waiting for Hamas to respond to its proposal before sending a team to Egypt to continue ceasefire talks.
\nAccording to UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, the Israeli proposal would see a 40-day pause in fighting, rather than a permanent ceasefire as Hamas has repeatedly asked for.
\nA response to Israel\u2019s latest proposal is expected from Hamas by Wednesday evening, Al Jazeera\u2019s Stefanie Dekker reported.
\nHamas reviewing proposal
\nUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is expected to visit Israel on his latest trip to the region, which began Monday in Saudi Arabia, said on Monday the best way to alleviate the humanitarian crisis is for the two sides to agree to a ceasefire.
\nBlinken said the latest Israeli ceasefire proposal is an \u201cextraordinarily generous\u201d offer and Hamas should accept it \u201cquickly\u201d.
\nHamas said it continues to review the Israeli proposal. A senior official from the group noted it continues to ignore demands for a permanent end to the war.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s clear from the Israeli paper that they are still insisting on two major issues: they don\u2019t want a complete ceasefire and they are not talking \u2013 in a serious way \u2013 about the withdrawal from Gaza. In fact, they are still talking about their presence, which means they will continue to occupy Gaza,\u201d Hamdan told Al Jazeera on Monday.
\n\u201cWe have serious questions for the mediators. If there are positive answers, I think we can move forward.\u201d
\nEgypt, Qatar and the US have been mediating talks between Israel and Hamas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Israeli PM Netanyahu says Israeli forces will enter the southern Gaza city \u2018with or without a deal\u2019 Rafah Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has renewed his promise that Israel will launch a ground assault on Rafah in southern Gaza amid shaky ongoing truce talks to reach a ceasefire deal. Netanyahu on Tuesday said Israel will destroy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403834,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-403817","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n