Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that opponents who urged Israel not to take military action in Rafah were telling the government to lose the war against Hamas.
The Israeli prime minister, who has pledged to destroy the Palestinian group responsible for the October 7 attack on Israel, has also stated that forces will enter regardless of whether a hostage release agreement is reached.
“Even if we succeed, we will enter Rafah”, Netanyahu said at a televised press conference.
Israel has come under growing pressure, notably from its closest ally the United States, to refrain from sending troops into the southern Gaza city, where an estimated 1.4 million Palestinians have fled.
The military says it is working to evacuate civilians from the area to reduce casualties, but it has not divulged specifics of its evacuation plan.
Talks have been held in Cairo, Egypt, to try to broker a cease-fire, as relief agencies are growing increasingly concerned about the Gaza Strip’s scarcity of food, water, and medication.
Netanyahu stated, “Any settlement will be reached only through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions, and dismissed Hamas’ demands as ludicrous”.
“Israel under my leadership will continue to strongly oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state”, Netanyahu continued.
“After the terrible massacre of October 7, there can be no greater reward for terrorism than that and it will prevent any future peace settlement”, Netanyahu added.
He spoke as thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv, accusing Netanyahu’s administration of abandoning hostages abducted in the October 7 attack and still being detained in Gaza.
They shouted that the government had ‘blood on its hands’ and urged Israel to compromise. Among them was Yair Mozes, whose father, Gadi, was among the hostages.
He went on to say, “I’m sorry that the prime minister thinks that it’s not necessary to send representatives to the negotiations in Cairo, where all the parties and mediators are except for Israel”.
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