Israel vows to press ahead with ‘powerful’ Rafah operation
- PM Netanyahu insisted he would seek ‘complete victory’, despite mounting calls to hold off on sending troops into the Gaza city packed with refugees
- Negotiations for a ceasefire continue, while cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon stoke fears of a wider conflict
Israel vowed on Wednesday to press on with a “powerful” operation in war-torn Gaza’s Rafah, even as calls mounted for it to hold off sending troops into the territory’s overcrowded far-southern city.
“We will fight until complete victory and this includes a powerful action also in Rafah after we allow the civilian population to leave the battle zones,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Hebrew statement on Telegram.
His pledge came as negotiations to pause the Israel-Gaza war headed into a second day and as deadly cross-border fire between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement stoked fears of wider conflict.
Mediators in Egypt were hoping to secure a ceasefire that would see more hostages released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, as Israel prepares for a full-scale ground incursion into Rafah.
A Hamas source said that a delegation was headed to Cairo to meet Egyptian and Qatari mediators, after Israeli negotiators held talks with the mediators on Tuesday.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas urged Hamas to “quickly complete a prisoner deal, to spare our Palestinian people from the calamity of another catastrophic event”.