Jerusalem [Israel], May 1: 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 Hamas' battalions there "with or without a deal" to achieve "total victory" in the nearly seven-month war.
Israel 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.
"The 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' battalions there - with or without a deal, to achieve the total victory," the prime minister said in a meeting with families of hostages held by armed groups in Gaza.
Hamas 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 - which have been major sticking points in negotiations.
Netanyahu has for months repeatedly pledged to go ahead with an invasion of Rafah, despite public pushback from Israel's main ally the US.
Aid agencies have warned that an assault of Rafah, where more than one million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, would be catastrophic.
The 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.
Israel's war on Gaza has killed more than 34,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities. The war has driven approximately 80 percent of Gaza's 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.
Israel's army radio said a plan to attack Rafah will get the go-ahead "in the coming days" if there is no ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Israeli 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.
However, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on Tuesday that "people have not yet been asked to evacuate from Rafah".
"But there is a sense that if there is not a ceasefire deal this week, it could happen at any time," he said during a news briefing in Geneva. The Reuters news agency reported that "a person close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu" said Israel is waiting for Hamas to respond to its proposal before sending a team to Egypt to continue ceasefire talks.
Source: Qatar Tribune