Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the Israeli military will launch a ground operation in Rafah regardless of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza. Netanyahu announced this on Tuesday.
Netanyahu said this in a statement issued by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office to the families of hostages held by Hamas.
He said, ‘I will stop the war before achieving all the goals of the war – this idea is unquestionable. With or without a cease-fire agreement with Hamas in Gaza, we will enter Rafah and eliminate the Hamas battalions there to achieve total victory.
Hamas is likely to accept Israel’s offer. A senior leader of Hamas said last Sunday that Hamas has no significant conflict with Israel’s proposed ceasefire and prisoner-hostage exchange.
Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement before Israel begins military operations in Rafah. The parties are meeting in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, to discuss the latest proposals for an agreement on the return of hostages to avoid Israeli aggression in the region.
The foreign ministers of the Arab and European countries held a meeting yesterday in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, to ensure a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel. One of the initiators of this meeting is Norwegian Foreign Minister Aspen Barth Ide. After the meeting, he said to the journalists, “If we want to advance this two-state solution, it will not be by relying on certain parties.” At this stage, I do not believe that Israel will make any concessions on this issue and the United States will also take the necessary leadership on this issue.
The ongoing crisis in Gaza began on October 7 last year. Early that morning, Hamas fighters entered Israel, killing approximately 1,139 people and taking more than 240 Israelis hostage. In response, Israel launched massive airstrikes on Gaza on the same day.
Israel’s attacks were halted by a temporary cease-fire in between. In addition, the almost seven-month-long Israeli occupation has resulted in a large number of casualties every day. According to the calculations of the Gaza authorities, the Israeli attack has so far killed about 34,500 people and injured about 78,000. Apart from this, there is a severe shortage of basic commodities including food, water and medicine in the region.