Israel regards the recent efforts to achieve a truce and a hostage deal in the Gaza war as a last chance before the planned strike on the Gaza Strip’s southern city of Rafah.
A senior Israeli official described the negotiations between Egyptian and Israeli delegates in Tel Aviv on Friday as very good and focused. To reach an accord, the Egyptians appeared to be willing to apply pressure on Hamas.
According to the report, progress had been achieved in all areas of the talks as of late Friday evening.
The Israeli official stated that Israel will not allow Hamas, namely its head in the Gaza Strip, Yahya al-Sinwar, to postpone a hostage swap to avoid the planned military raid in Rafah.
A few days ago, the army mobilized two more reserve brigades.
Al-Sinwar is thought to have orchestrated the massacre in Israel on October 7, last year, in which around 1,200 Israeli soldiers and civilians were slain and more than 200 individuals were abducted to Gaza. Israeli forces think that al-Sinwar is hidden in tunnels beneath Rafah.
“This is the last chance before we go to Rafah”, the Israeli government official continued.
“It’s either an agreement in the future or Rafah”, the official added.
More than a million Palestinians have fled the violence in the rest of the Gaza Strip, seeking safety in Rafah.
The most recent talks between Egyptian and Israeli representatives were originally planned to focus on a limited agreement with Hamas, in which only select female, old, and ailing hostages would be released. Hamas had rejected a US request to free 40 such abductees.
There aren’t many hostages left alive who fit within these categories. Hamas is demanding a permanent truce in Gaza, which Israel’s government refuses.
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