Palestinian groups have issued a warning after Biden said Israel should not invade without a “credible” plan to protect civilians.
Hamas has warned Israel that a ground offensive in Rafah would jeopardize negotiations on a cease-fire and exchange of prisoners and prisoners of war, and US President Joe Biden has warned of “confidence” to protect civilians in the city. “We can do it,” he said, adding that no one should proceed with an attack without a plan.
Aid groups and foreign governments, including the United States, Israel's main ally, have expressed deep concern about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pledge to expand ground military operations into the far southern city of Gaza.
Rafah, on the border with Egypt, is home to Palestinians fleeing relentless Israeli shelling elsewhere in the Gaza Strip in a four-month war with Hamas that began with an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group. It is the last place of refuge for
“If the occupation forces attack the city of Rafah, the exchange negotiations will be ruined,” a Hamas leader told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the military to prepare to enter the city, which is currently home to more than half of Gaza's population, raising concerns about the impact on displaced people.
A senior Biden administration official said Sunday that negotiators working on a phased framework agreement for the release of the remaining hostages have made “substantial progress” in the past few weeks.
The hostage release agreement was the main focus of a 45-minute phone call between Biden and Netanyahu on Sunday, but the official said there were still some “significant” gaps that needed to be bridged, adding: “We are close to reaching an agreement. There is,” he added.
The White House said Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the advance into Gaza should not proceed unless there was a “credible” plan to ensure the “safety” of people sheltering in the strip. Ta.
Some 1.4 million Palestinians have crammed into Rafah, many living in tents as food, water and medicine become increasingly scarce.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US broadcaster ABC News that Operation Rafah would continue until Hamas was eliminated, adding that Israel would provide a “safe passage” for civilians wishing to leave.
When asked where to go, Prime Minister Netanyahu said: “There are many areas that we have cleared north of Rafah. But we are developing detailed plans.”
“Targeted attack”
Mediators held new talks in Cairo to try to halt the fighting and release some of the 132 hostages Israel still holds in Gaza, including 29 believed dead.
According to Israeli authorities, Hamas took approximately 240 hostages on October 7th. Dozens of people were released during a week-long ceasefire in November.
Hamas' military wing said on Sunday that two hostages were killed and eight others seriously injured in Israeli shelling in recent days.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces calls for early elections and growing protests over his government's failure to return the hostages.
On Sunday, the Israeli military said its troops north of Rafah were carrying out “targeted raids” west of Khan Yunis, the main city in southern Gaza, while Hamas reported violent clashes and said airstrikes had also hit Rafah. Stated.
Hamas' unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7 killed around 1,139 people, mostly civilians, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on official Israeli statistics.
Israel responded with relentless attacks in the Hamas-held Gaza Strip, which the Gaza Health Ministry said killed at least 28,176 people, most of them women and children.
Israeli military attacks left much of the territory in ruins and displaced more than 80 percent of the population.
