Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a date has been set for the Israeli military’s invasion of Rafah, arguging that the invasion of the southern city is essential for victory.
“Today I received a detailed report on the talks in Cairo, we are constantly working to achieve our goals, first and foremost the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas,” Netanyahu said in a video message posted to X, formerly Twitter.
“This victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there.
Netanyahu has said for weeks Israeli forces were expected to eventually invade Rafah despite repeated warnings against doing so from President Biden and other White House officials.
There are around 1.4 million civilians estimated to be seeking refuge in Rafah after following direction from Israel to leave their homes in northern Gaza.
Netanyahu last week said Israel plans to enter Rahah with or without U.S. support.
Ben-Gvir, Israel’s National Security Minister, said if Netanyahu ends Israel’s war with Hamas without an attack on Hamas in Rafah, he will “cease to have a mandate to serve as prime minister,” per the Jerusalem Post.
Smotrich, in a letter Monday, reportedly called on Netanyahu to convence Israel’s National Security Cabinet, which has the power to make policy decisions over the war.
A date for the Israeli military’s invasion of Rafah has been announced, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who claimed that the invasion of the southern city was necessary for victory.
In a video message uploaded to X, the former Twitter platform, Netanyahu stated, “Today I received a detailed report on the talks in Cairo. We are constantly working to achieve our goals, first and foremost the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas.”.
To achieve this victory, the terrorist battalions in Rafah must be destroyed. “There’s a date, it will happen,” he went on.
President Biden and other White House officials have warned against invading Rafah, but Netanyahu has stated for weeks that Israeli forces were expected to do so eventually.
It is estimated that 14.1 million civilians have fled their homes in northern Gaza as directed by Israel and are taking refuge in Rafah. Earlier this year, Israel issued the evacuation orders so that its forces could search for Hamas militants responsible for the October 1,200 killings that claimed 1,200 lives. 7 and the taking of hundreds of people as hostages.
Netanyahu declared last week that Israel intends to enter Rahah with or without the U.S. s. backing.
His statement coincides with mounting pressure on Israel from Washington and other Western leaders regarding its military actions in Gaza, which the Associated Press reports have resulted in the deaths of 33,200 Palestinians.
Six employees of the World Central Kitchen and their Palestinian driver were killed last week by an Israeli airstrike while they were leaving a warehouse in central Gaza. The group was traveling in armored cars bearing World Central Kitchen logos when the strike occurred. They had just delivered roughly 100 tons of food aid.
Following the incident, Biden warned U.S. citizens of the dangers in his harshest criticism of Netanyahu. S. Policies regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza would now be dictated by the “immediate” actions Israel must take to lessen a “unacceptable” humanitarian crisis. Since the war began in October of last year, Biden and his team have changed significantly since their conversation.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been withdrawing troops from Gaza, which has drawn criticism from Netanayahu by far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, according to The Jerusalem Post.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel’s National Security Minister, Ben-Gvir, threatened to “cease to have a mandate to serve as prime minister” if Netanyahu terminates Israel’s conflict with Hamas without attacking Hamas in Rafah.
Netanyahu is allegedly under pressure from Smotrich to call a meeting of Israel’s National Security Cabinet, which has the authority to decide on war strategy, in a letter sent on Monday.
According to the Jerusalem Post, he stated, “The only forum that is authorized to make decisive decisions during wartime is the broad [National Security] cabinet, but unfortunately this is not how things have worked and we see decisions being made by the small [war] cabinet without approval and without updating the broad cabinet, under international pressures that harm the momentum of the war and our security interests.”.
According to the White House, Biden also pushed the Israeli prime minister toward a cease-fire agreement last week that would result in the release of the last hostages in Gaza and a halt to hostilities in the war-torn region.
