Israel-Hamas war: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday asserted that his military will push on with its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, including in the southern city of Rafah, despite growing international pressure to stop. The statement comes as ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas appear to be stalled, with both sides accusing each other of not making compromises.
Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas after its fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and abducting 253, according to Israeli tallies. More than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza during Israel's subsequent offensive, according to Palestinian health officials, prompting global condemnation and calls for an immediate ceasefire.
"Today, I want to tell you clearly: The IDF will continue to operate against all of Hamas's battalions throughout the Strip – and this includes Rafah, Hamas's last stronghold. Whoever tells us not to operate in Rafah, is telling us to lose the war – and that will not happen," said Netanyahu on Thursday during an event at an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) training base.
"There is international pressure and it's growing, but particularly when the international pressure rises, we must close ranks, we need to stand together against the attempts to stop the war," he said, adding that eliminating Hamas' rule, the return of all hostages and preventing any future threat to Israel from Gaza are key priorities. Netanyahu also said whoever is talking about not invading Rafah is telling Israel to lose the war.
Ceasefire talks between Israel, Hamas
The Israeli PM also said the country must push back against a "calculated attempt" to blame it for Hamas' crimes. "It is Hamas that murdered, massacred and raped our brothers and sisters. It is Hamas that abducted our sons and daughters. It is Hamas that is perpetrating war crimes against its people and ours on a daily basis. And we are fighting these monsters in order to ensure our very existence," he said.
This comes after ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas in the presence of negotiators from the US, Egypt and Qatar failed to make any breakthrough as Hamas' delegation returned from Cairo, with both warring sides blaming each other. Egyptian security sources said talks, taking place without an Israeli delegation in Cairo, would resume on Sunday, the expected start of Ramadan.
Senior US administration officials said the onus was on Hamas to complete a hostage deal and attributed the delay to what they described as Hamas so far not agreeing to release sick and elderly hostages. Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters Israel had been "thwarting" efforts to conclude a ceasefire deal by rejecting Hamas' demands to end its offensive in the enclave, withdraw its forces, and ensure freedom of entry for aid and the return of displaced people.
Netanyahu had reiterated his intention on Thursday to press on with the military campaign in Gaza. Israel has previously said its aim is to destroy Hamas and that any ceasefire must be temporary. It has also pressed for a list of hostages still alive and held by Hamas in Gaza. "We've made very, very clear and this has been reiterated by the US that, unfortunately, it is Hamas who is the stumbling block right now by not telling us who is alive and who they have in their custody," said Israeli government spokesman David Mencer.
Hamas officials have said a ceasefire must be in place before the hostages are freed, Israeli forces must leave Gaza and all Gazans must be able to return to homes they have fled. Hamas has said it can't provide a list of the hostages who are still alive without a ceasefire as the hostages are scattered across the war zone.
The news of the Hamas delegation leaving Cairo without an accord was met with despair in Gaza, which is in the grip of a deep humanitarian crisis after five months of war. "I feel great disappointment and despair, fear too," said Abir, who along with her 12-member family has taken refuge in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where more than half of the enclave's 2.3 million people are now sheltering.
US military to set up temporary aid port for Gaza
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has ordered the American military to set up a temporary port off the coast of Gaza, joining international partners in trying to carve out a sea route to deliver food and other aid to desperate Palestinian civilians cut off by the Hamas-Israel war and by Israeli restrictions on humanitarian access by land.
While reiterating his support for Israel, Biden used the announcement and the bright spotlight of his State of the Union speech to renew months of US calls to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change how he conducts the war, including by allowing in more aid to Gaza and doing more to protect humanitarian workers there.
"To the leadership of Israel I say this: Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip. Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority. As we look to the future, the only real solution to this situation is a two-state solution," he added.
(with inputs from Reuters, AP)
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