A senior Hamas leader said Sunday that any Israeli ground offensive in Rafah on the Gaza border will blow up the hostage exchange negotiations.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed it has ordered the military to devise a plan to evacuate Rafah and destroy four Hamas battalions that it claims are stationed there.
The majority of the displaced have taken refuge in Rafah, on Egypt’s border, but following failed ceasefire talks, Netanyahu declared this week that Israeli forces will battle until total victory.
Before past assaults on Gaza’s cities, Israel’s military ordered citizens to move south, but there is no obvious place to go and aid agencies warn that many people may perish.
According to Israeli estimates, the fighting in Gaza began on October 7 when Hamas gunmen stormed border fortifications and attacked Israeli cities, killing around 1,200 people, the majority of whom were civilians, and capturing approximately 250 hostages back to Gaza.
Israel reacted with a massive bombardment and ground offensive, killing around 28,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom were civilians, as per the medical authorities in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
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