Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that a date has been set for Israel’s invasion of Rafah, the last refuge for displaced Palestinians in Gaza, without disclosing the date as a new round of cease-fire talks was underway in Cairo, Israeli media reported.
In a video message posted on X, Netanyahu, who has been increasingly criticised at home for his leadership of the six-month war against Hamas, told Israelis that “complete victory” over the jihadists “requires entering Rafah and destroying the terror battalions there”. He added:
It will happen, there is a date.
Meanwhile, truce talks between Israeli and Hamas officials continued in Cairo after CIA Director Bill Burns offered over the weekend to provide Hamas with a list of 40 Israeli hostages who are alive and could be released on humanitarian grounds – they include women, Israel Defence Forces soldiers, men over 50 and people with serious illnesses – in exchange for a six-week ceasefire, Axios reported.
But Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Monday that Hamas was trying to negotiate the release of fewer hostages on the grounds that it had “no possibility of releasing the 40” abductees who met the Israeli negotiators’ original request.
Hamas captured about 240 people from 29 countries during and after the attack, which killed about 1,200 people, including 33 Americans.
As of late March, 129 hostages taken on 7 October were still in Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Israeli officials. Of that number, at least 34 and up to 50 are believed to have died in captivity.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a six-day truce last November as part of a major prisoner swap. However, a follow-up deal has remained elusive for months.
Netanyahu’s intention to storm into Rafah has caused disagreement with President Biden, who has demanded that any operation be conducted with civilian security plans in mind.
Biden and Netanyahu had a tense telephone conversation last Thursday, during which the president called for a ceasefire and warned that the US would reconsider its support for Israel if the humanitarian situation did not improve.
Following the conversation, Israel agreed to open the Hanoon crossing in northern Gaza to let more aid into the besieged territory.
Rafah is home to about 1.4 million refugees, many of whom travelled there to seek safety from the intense fighting in the north.
