Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back on calls to delay a Rafah offensive, saying total victory is just weeks away. Netanyahu said a cease-fire would only delay his decision, not put it off for good.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will convene the country's War Cabinet early next week for approval of "operational plans for action in Rafah."
The plan for military operations in the city in the south of the Gaza Strip will also include "the evacuation of the civilian population," he said in a post on social media platform X.
Israel has steadily expanded military ground operations in Gaza toward the south, leaving Rafah as one of the last refuges for over half of the enclave's 2.3 million residents fleeing the violence. The city's population, which stood at about 250,000 before the war, has ballooned to about 1.5 million, according to several UN agencies.
Many there are living in makeshift camps and UN shelters.
Earlier in February, Israeli officials announced their intention to conduct a full-scale ground offensive in Rafah, which Netanyahu called "the last bastion" of Hamas, which Israel and several other countries designate as a terrorist organization.
Netanyahu's statement triggered several of Israel's allied and non-allied countries to call for an immediate, albeit temporary, cease-fire.
The United States, Israel’s biggest supporter in its war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas, has warned Netanyahu against carrying out the Rafah operation without a practical plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians.
In his post, Netanyahu said the continued military pressure on Hamas is necessary to secure the release of the remaining hostages being held in Gaza.
Source: Dw
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